Losing interest in your reef aquarium and what to do?

[Johniejumbo]

I can’t say I really lose interest so much as gain frustration almost exclusively via lack of funds. I sometimes want to quit simply because I can’t afford things. I’m not talking about being mad I can’t buy this years model of something. I mean I can’t afford things like the new impeller for my skimmer or a power head that doesn’t rattle like a lawnmower with a bent shaft. Or new bulbs. Lots of medical bills recently have me bound up financially. The skimmer still sorta works and the water still moves in the tank and the lights still make things happy so I can’t justify to myself buying new stuff. Gotta keep the priorities right! My wife and I still love it and we won’t be broke forever so we will limp it along til then

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I can’t say I really lose interest so much as gain frustration almost exclusively via lack of funds. I sometimes want to quit simply because I can’t afford things. I’m not talking about being mad I can’t buy this years model of something. I mean I can’t afford things like the new impeller for my skimmer or a power head that doesn’t rattle like a lawnmower with a bent shaft. Or new bulbs. Lots of medical bills recently have me bound up financially. The skimmer still sorta works and the water still moves in the tank and the lights still make things happy so I can’t justify to myself buying new stuff. Gotta keep the priorities right! My wife and I still love it and we won’t be broke forever so we will limp it along til then

Why not send me a list of parts you need maybe I could help you out with some of them. Just a thought! Hope your New Year is terrific!

 

[Idoc]

Im still very interested, but algae anxieties do cause me to occasionally wonder why I'm doing this. But just watching the fish interact with me and the other fish usually brings it into perspective since they are all counting on me to live now!

 

[erk]

I've never really lost interest in keeping an aquarium, fresh or salt. There are plenty of times where it isn't my main focus, but I still watch over it and take care of it. Heck, even when I had a crash, I may not have been working on the tank much, but I was constantly thinking about it and trying to find a solution.

 

[Alfrareef]

I never lost interest. Love to stare at it watch nature dynamics. Only thing missing is Sir Richard Attenborough background comments.
What happens is sometimes the livestock takes care of the tank for me. Automations and kiss methodology helps me been away from the tank when work and/or family needs me.
My record was 4 weeks away and when I return the loss was minimal (2 fish) and the acros have grown like weeds...
Try sitting in front of tank and watch...

 

[dutch27]

I kept reef tanks for around 7 years. My last tank was a disaster, nothing grew but algae. Feeding the fish felt like a chore. I broke down to move to a new house over the summer and haven't set back up. I'm starting to think I like the idea of the tank, more than the tank itself. The idea of mixing water every couple of weeks and shuffling buckets around fills me with dread, especially if the tank is an algae fiesta that won't grow corals. I think I like planning the systems and building them more than anything else.

On the other hand, I watched some of Blue Planet II recently, and the reef episode was great, made me want a tank again. I can do a basement setup now for a sump/water change station, and make the maintenance a bit easier. However, now I look online at corals (limited local shopping), and the price of corals is outrageous and is also a detraction. It looks like someone cranked up some blue LEDs over some torch corals, moved some sliders in photoshop, called them "holy grail" and started charging $400. Acro prices are equally dumb. Every photo is blue LEDs. Tons of $$$ for corals that won't look anything like their photo under the lighting I prefer.

I have a little itch to jump back in, but I'm not sure the enthusiasm will come back enough to get me to pull the trigger. There's a ton I miss, but the coral pricing and headaches of maintenance are still keeping me away.

 

[LMDAVE]

I would have to say interest level drops when I continue to see no success with growing anything or controlling algae. I'm coming up to 1 year on my reef tank and already have plans for an upgrade. But, after keeping all parameters in check, upgrading to better lights, almost every frag a bought over the last year looks almost exactly how it was when I purchased it (except a few zoas that multiplied nice). My Monti Cap added about a 1/2" radius to itself over 9 months, 3 SPS frags never lost color but never grown at all. Torches, hammers, all basically the exact same of when I purchased them over 6 month ago. So yeah, you start losing interest when no success is there.

 

[reefwiser]

I always have PM work to preform on my aquariums. Really never have time to be bored. I am currently waiting for a plant order to set up a new nature aquarium for my wife. She loves her plants and I have come to love them too. So I have that to keep me going too. Learning is a non stop part of the hobby. I have been keeping aquariums for 55 years now and everyday I learn something new. So much to learn and so little time. 190 days till I retire and can devote full time work to my interests. [emoji3]

 

[richfavinger]

Been in the hobby for 20+ years now...
Current tank has been having diatom issues on and off for 2+ years... and I just can't nail it down... Always use RO/DI, and know my parameters... Even just swiped out lights... Got a nice nest of Fiji Green Digi' Acro that is bleary 10" with burnt tips (could have been my flat), but now I just can't seem to shake it, despite clipping... Coral looks like crap, tank looks like crap...

And the costs for equipment and in general coral seem to keep going up, now down... Frags are micro sticks, and any thing a little larger is $50-$75-$100 a pop. - With the tank acting the way it is, I just don't feel like investing in a frag pack to repopulate - because I feel I would just be throwing money away till I get the algae thing sorted out.

My last 2 tanks, a 125g, and 75g, ran fine for years with minor issues that burned them selves out as things often do. But this tanks, my 135g - with Starphire - that was suppose to be my masterpiece has been nothing but trouble since I sat it up 5 years ago...:mad:

 

[DMG Reef]

I didn't lose interest in my reef tank, it lost interest in me! As it approaches the 5-year mark, it only needs me to empty the skimmer cup, feed the fish, and keep the doser solutions full. So I did the only thing I could think of to feel needed again - set up another tank. It's going through the uglies right now and dialing in the LED's has been challenging. Of course there are days when I think "what was I thinking"? But I'm officially hooked on reefing and can't even imagine not having a tank.

 

[mitch91175]

I didn't lose interest in my reef tank, it lost interest in me! As it approaches the 5-year mark, it only needs me to empty the skimmer cup, feed the fish, and keep the doser solutions full. So I did the only thing I could think of to feel needed again - set up another tank. It's going through the uglies right now and dialing in the LED's has been challenging. Of course there are days when I think "what was I thinking"? But I'm officially hooked on reefing and can't even imagine not having a tank.

When setup properly, you are right that a tank doesn't need the constant attention. I am in the same boat. I utilize certain equipment to help maintain my tank so I do not have to always monitor the tank. Have a CaRx so no longer needing to fill dKH, etc. Only change filter socks when I really need to do so. I run with 1 sock in/1 sock out. That way I do not HAVE to stay on top of changing my filter socks. I have Alkalinity control as well.

I do at times loose interest simply because I am not doing nearly as much to my tank as I have been in the past. Not enough to where I want to break down the tank though.

 

[Johniejumbo]

Why not send me a list of parts you need maybe I could help you out with some of them. Just a thought! Hope your New Year is terrific!

Very kind of you! If I get in a real jam I will reach out. I should be able to get what I need when the good ol tax return comes through. It’ll be nice to have my 2 halides actually be the same color again lol. I hope your New Year is great as well!

 

[dbjonesjr]

I like to think of algae problems as more of a challenge than a damper. I'm tested and challenged to beat it

Yup second this opinion. However I haven’t been in the hobby that long so this may change!

 

[Matt Carden]

I had the oh no what did I get myself into about a month ago after I had already spent ~$2000 on my 150 and as I kept reading threads on here realizing that I still needed so much more just to get the tank running. Now ~$1000 later and there is still more I need and I'm out of extra money for tank, unemployed but I go back to work on the 16th. The next 2 months will be a challenge to keep my interest due to not being able to afford to do anything other than hand cleaning algea. The good side of this is that I will have a 4 month cycle without livestock.

 

[A sea K]

Had a temp controller malfunction that wiped out most all my livestock in my 210 several years ago that nearly put me out of the hobby. Broke down the tank and after some time came back with renewed interest. Next issue is what brought me here to this site, I brought in a disease with some new fish that again wiped out nearly all my fish. I never did figure out what exactly the issue was but the heartbreak is again almost too much to bear, after some time I'm up and running again.
Back in October(the 6th to be exact) my wife was seriously injured and is still on her road to recovery. the ONLY thing that is helping me maintain any degree of sanity is my tank. I'm really glad it's still hanging in there(and the wife too!)

 

[Lasse]

First aquarium around 1962. Lost interest when i was 14 (of some reasons) - get it back 1972 - had a lot freshwater tanks up to 1986 (one smal SW too). At that time I start to work with fish as a jobb. No time or interest to manage aquariums at home when I was working in a fish farms, waste water treatment plants or public aquariums. 2006 I start again at home with salt water and that´s the way still is.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[litenyaup]

I had to leave the hobby for a couple reasons, first and foremost my daughter had cancer and I had to spend all my time with her. it has been 4.5 years since she was diagnosed and now doing well out of treatment. second is we have since sold our house and had to move into another family members house while our new one is being built. I have a new build thread and will be back into the hobby just as soon as the tank build is complete.

I know there is a real thing "old tank syndrome" . when you see your tank without any thing new for a while you get board with it and start to lose interest fast. friends of mine felt that way and after having a tank setup for a few years and when it was completely done over he never felt the same about it.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I lose some interest for periods of time, usually about the same period the boat is on the water and the fish are biting! However, that's not the big reason I'm losing interest... I just can't afford the corals that my tank is now ready to house. With the shipping ban in Indonesia and the absolutely insane dollars fellow hobbyists are asking for unbelievably small frags, I'm priced out of the market. I'm stuck staring at a couple of corals that survived my early mistakes that are growing and coloring well but that's pretty boring. I'm maxed on fish, so there's really nothing to do but maintain the system and watch the rocks change color!

 

[NS Mike D]

I lose time, not interest. Fortunately, I very much look forward to the end of the day when I can finally park myself and look at my tank, and to this day, the miracle of all the life that is co-existing in that little glass box make me wonder about the complexity of the ocean. I get lost in my thoughts.

Plus I never get tired of watching he clowns swim in or out of my duncan or watching the fish line up for the cleaner shrimp like motorist on Saturday at the car wash.

Now if I can find a way to not obsess over every strand of algae, I can achieve total bliss.

 

[steelwrap]

I have a whole list of reasons or should i say excuses. Divorce, remarriage, kids, grandkids, lack of money so cheap equip, huge picture window shining in my tank, moving sketchy rock from tank to resized tank and on and on. But i guess it really boils down to the uglies which discourages me so then less maintenance which makes things uglier. That seems to be my cycle so my only real excuse is ME. I currently dont like much of anything about My tank so being in a better position in My life I got 40 lbs of marco rock cycling to try a fresh start.