If money wasnt an issue. Would you hire an reef/aquarium maintenance service?

[MillennialReefer]

When I started reefing and I can only assume this applies to many of us, It was because the tanks I saw were spectacular and I wanted to have one in my home! However, once you get in to the hobby you begin to learn you must be a biologist, chemist, plumber, structural engineer and have enough patience to witness the evolution of a tank. Which is very fun and educational but sometimes I feel I just want my tank to be perfect without having to think critically (which I do daily while at work lol)

That being said, there are times I wish someone could come over and just take care of my tank in terms of deep cleaning, testing, maintenance and solve any issues (I don't mind cleaning the glass and feeding the fish, that's the fun part for me lol)

How many of you have had similar thought?

 

[Woodyman]

I voted other because, If money were no issue, I'd be retired so I wouldn't have obligations keeping me from the tank!

I would enjoy it and everything else a lot more!

 

[Woodyman]

Also to be fair if money wasn't an issue I would probably contact things out as well. May do it one week and not feel like doing it again for another 6 months...

 

[chandavi]

I enjoy the learning: Good times and bad!!
(at 13 mos my 32gal is finally chugging along **knock on wood**)

 

[Sean Clark]

Maintenance is most of the fun.

 

[Willu]

Yeah I feel like most of the fun is in taking care of it by myself. Otherwise I feel like I could just go to the local aquarium and it would be the same as having someone come and take care of a reef tank at home for me.

 

[muzikalmatt]

I enjoy the maintenance aspect of reefing and knowing that everything about my tank (good and bad) is because of my efforts. I feel like if you're not actively maintaining your own tank, you're not getting the full experience of reefing. If I had a much larger tank I could see maybe having someone help out with certain maintenance tasks, but I would still want to be directly involved.

 

[J1a]

For me, I value the process of keeping the reef. Therefore even if tank maintenance can be tedious at times, getting personally involved allows me to be in tune of my aquarium.

I guess when I know the aquarium inside out, I can better evaluate the outcome when I carry out (unconventional) experiments.

 

[Hydrored]

Maybe if I lived near TSA or something, I had a company take care of my last tank for 2 months due to being away and I was not happy. So the answer is maybe with references and examples of tanks they are taking care of now.

 

[fish farmer]

If money was no object I would live where I could snorkel over a real reef and spend the rest of the day gardening.

 

[Zach B]

I would own such a massive tank/tanks and fish room that I would need about 3 of me so yes I would still be as involved as I am now which is border line obsessive

 

[Acros]

Only to take care of the tank when I am traveling the world. Money is not an issue, right?

 

[Lyss]

As a new reefer, no -- I want to learn, and develop the ability to build and manage a reef on my own. After being an established reefer -- yes, b/c I do not get joy from the maintenance lol.

Time is our most precious resource, and we can never get it back once it's gone, so if money were no object I would pay for help with the things that don't bring me joy and spend more of my time on the things that do.

That said, I would NEVER want to have someone else managing something I own but I don't know how to manage myself, and that's why I wouldn't do it as a new reefer even if money were no object.

 

[Derrick0580]

No body will ever take care of your tank the way you do!

 

[Borat]

I would sub-contract everything, including watching the tank and enjoying it...

 

[REEFTIDE]

It would really depend on who is doing the maintenance. Unfortunately lots of companies all kinda look the same but def don't do the same things

 

[Reefing102]

If money was no object I would live where I could snorkel over a real reef and spend the rest of the day gardening.

This^^^^

However, if my budget was significantly higher, I would every couple weeks/monthly for water changes and other tasks

 

[rtparty]

Nope. I don't trust anyone else making changes and making decisions for my systems. If something fails, I want that on me.

 

[damsels are not mean]

If money were no issue there would be nothing to distract me from maintaining my vivariums

 

[Sebastiancrab]

No, not on a normal basis. I have an acquaintance who lost thousands of dollars of coral and fish before Christmas due to a faulty heater which got stuck on. It was a huge tank and his maintenance person had been taking care of his tank for probably several years. I couldn't believe on a tank that size a controller had never be set up.