Navigating holiday visitors: How do you deal with guests and your fish tank?

vpierce3 · Dec 21, 2022

I enjoy talking about the tank, but mainly just answer their questions.
Friends who are seeing it for the first time usually ask more questions than others.
I love it when they ask “if those plants are real”.
Sometimes someone will ask how big the filter is…..I just open the cabinet and watch their jaw drop when they see the sump. Lol.

Jeeperz · Dec 22, 2022

There's no such thing as guests in our house. It's the girlfriend and her kid, our cats, and our dog that will eat anyone that's not us, so no guests, ever.

Borat · Dec 22, 2022

Frankly - my visitors usually show polite interest in my tank and I can read the signs that their "wow - how did you build this tank" typically means "nice weather outside, is it?" - i.e. not really interested, just being polite..

As for kids, provided they have their i-things (i-pad, i-phone, i-raq etc), they don't even notice..

Katherine Corals · Dec 22, 2022

I love talking about my reef tank and getting family involved in my hobby! With that being said though, I try and have these conversations outside so that the oxygen levels in my home dont deplete and my Ph isnt sacrificed

SteveMM62Reef · Dec 22, 2022

Remove and Hide the Magnetics, especially the cleaning ones. Someone scratched the hell out of my 65 Gallon Reef.

Dbichler · Dec 22, 2022

I never host. So never really an issue. The people who do come over either know about the tank and ask to go look while others have no interest.

Indymann99 · Dec 22, 2022

Remove the MagFloat Cleaner!!!

vpierce3 · Dec 22, 2022

Katherine Corals said:
I love talking about my reef tank and getting family involved in my hobby! With that being said though, I try and have these conversations outside so that the oxygen levels in my home dont deplete and my Ph isnt sacrificed

You could just make them wear SCUBA gear when they come in.

Reef Altitude · Dec 23, 2022

My parents love it, dad will watch for hours. He also says he is glad I am taking care of it!
Others see it, look for a few minutes and move on. Almost everyone who comes in the house does check it out because it is right between the kitchen and living room. Everyone thinks it's really cool, no one has any idea what it takes to make it happen.

We did have a family friend tell us ten years later that they always loved seeing what was going on in the tank when they came over so I think most appreciate it in their own way.

rhostam · Dec 23, 2022

I have no choice, as I have a peninsula tank dividing my living and dining areas. Most of the time, guests ask questions, and I get as detailed or as high-level as they get with their questions. I've been battling dinos/GHA/cyano for a year now. I am on the verge of a teardown, yet the last few guests (large parties during Thanksgiving and smaller groups of relatives just the other day) I've had all commented, "what a beautiful tank!" and started to ask questions about this or that. I was reminded that only a reefer would be disgusted by what we see.

DeniseAndy · Dec 23, 2022

Yep, I had a program and my 6g was full of cyano and I was disgusted, but no one thought anything of it. I cleaned it out after the program (vefore the program the next day) and I am much happier, but the people seeing it did not really notice.