New Year with no tank end of 29 year with aquariums

me & my baby · Jan 2, 2020

It has been 29years of having saltwater tanks and 2020 will be the first year with out one . I have ponder this decision for awhile my kids have asked me not to but In reality this hobby has gone crazy . When I first started keeping saltwater it was so hard and the community of reefers was all we had . Now I’m the tech area information is right at your fingertips which is awesome . With just as much good and bad information it’s up to the reefer to figure it out . Back then we where happy to keep a brown drag alive now with all the vibrant colors it’s amazing. No here is the problem today . One is the manufacturers of all this new high tech stuff . Just because there is not bunch of competition they kill us on the price of this stuff . You can buy how many laptops just for the price of one aquarium controller , and don’t say it’s because of how much it can do it is simple programming for the most part but yet us reefers keep buying it and the prices keep going up . Same this with pumps and don’t get me started on light . Think about how much it really cost ecotech for a light fixture and I am sure we pay 70 times more for it . My last rant is in the price of corals . What in the world are people doing asking 2-300 and up for some frags are you kidding me . I remember when people flipped out for paying 75.00 for an 1/2” frag of purple monster . Most of y’all are saying but captive raise but with the prices it’s not worth it anymore . This hobby Has brought me many years of enjoyment and sadness. To all that have helped over the years thank you very much The ones that ripped me off , karma is a you know what . Good luck all

csb123 · Jan 3, 2020

You will be missed as part of our community. I also hear your frustration with the costs of the hobby. You certainly aren’t the first to lament this issue. I do feel newbies are being priced out of the hobby, although there are ways to set up a budget tank. One does need, however, to modify expectations about what types of corals can be maintained with less expensive gear. I,personally, try to buy only used equipment...but that’s beside the point.

Good luck with your plans! Also, consider hanging on to your current gear if you have room to store it. You might find you miss it too much (like I did,) or your kids might want to try something with it in the future.

Sincerely,
Sean

Dine · Jan 3, 2020

I don’t get this at all. You can totally keep a reef tank on a budget. You don’t need to buy the 300 dollar frags and you don’t need to buy the controller. You would quit a hobby in protest? Good luck to you but I don’t get man.

me & my baby · Jan 3, 2020

Sean thank you and I am saving a lot of it ,
Dine
I am not quitting over protest by any means , I am leaving the hobby for my own reason . See this year I got really sick and was told I had only 3-5 to live the after several invasive procedures my lung diseases disappeared. While dealing with all that and thinking about things it puts a lot of things in perspective. I was 43yrs old confined to a walker and having to have 3liters of oxygen 24/7 just to live makes you think . Yes you can have a tank on a budget , but go to work , go on vacation with no sitter close by you need monitoring. The thing is the price gouging of theses companies is just not right . And for all the new people just getting into it pushes a lot of people away . But as long as we keep buying there product they are going to keep raising and raising the prices . Everyone talks about ecotech RND news flash we are the RND for them . Look at how much they changed when we starting experimenting with different color leds on our own . All they did was adapt to what we where doing and add a WiFi controller to it and some easy software . You can do that with a raspberry pi that cost 40 bucks . Add a cheap case and a fan and power supply and charge you 800 for it really come on people . That’s just my two cents

Fishingandreefing · Jan 3, 2020

I respect your decision but I don’t think you should quit this hobby based on the fact that these outrageous prices on corals and equipments. There are plenty of Chinese made equipments such as jebao and black boxes to keep a successful tank.

there’s no need to spend bunch of money on a torch or a so called designer frags.

I always check Craigslist and here to find good deals. If torches and a pump costs $400, let them be, you have control of your money and spend them wisely.

MarsWulf5 · Jan 3, 2020

me & my baby said:
Sean thank you and I am saving a lot of it ,
Dine
I am not quitting over protest by any means , I am leaving the hobby for my own reason . See this year I got really sick and was told I had only 3-5 to live the after several invasive procedures my lung diseases disappeared. While dealing with all that and thinking about things it puts a lot of things in perspective. I was 43yrs old confined to a walker and having to have 3liters of oxygen 24/7 just to live makes you think . Yes you can have a tank on a budget , but go to work , go on vacation with no sitter close by you need monitoring. The thing is the price gouging of theses companies is just not right . And for all the new people just getting into it pushes a lot of people away . But as long as we keep buying there product they are going to keep raising and raising the prices . Everyone talks about ecotech RND news flash we are the RND for them . Look at how much they changed when we starting experimenting with different color leds on our own . All they did was adapt to what we where doing and add a WiFi controller to it and some easy software . You can do that with a raspberry pi that cost 40 bucks . Add a cheap case and a fan and power supply and charge you 800 for it really come on people . That’s just my two cents

I'm just starting (over for the 2nd time) in all this - and you're right about being priced out. I had a tank crash about 13 years ago and I gave up. Starting over now has been CRAZY expensive and my tank isnt even cycling yet. It's been $3000, so far (on the low end), no exageration, and I haven't even purchased lights, circulation pumps, enough dry rock, a quaranteen tank, a generator, top off, reactors, or even plumbed my tank etc... 3G on a 120G 4' tank with a stand, canopy, sump, return pump, salt, test kit, live sand, RODI, RODI pump, hydrometer, and a bottle of Bio-Spira. It's gonna take another 3G for everything else and thats not including any fish. I'm not planning on buying a control system anytime soon - thats $1900 plus tax with all the bells and whistles... Basically, I see a 2 grand power strip when I look at them - but everyone does rave about how great they are. I'm just gonna have to keep an eye on things myself until I find an extra $800-2G lying around. I'd rather buy a generator for when there's a power failure. I'm a barber so I'm not exactly Daddy Warbucks. Then looking at how much electric this is gonna consume... And upkeep costs... dang. What have I done?! LOL. I will say this though... I am having fun - a lot of fun. Maybe I'm just a nerd but I'm really into this, I've missed my tank so much. I like that it takes brains, muscle, dedication and the patience of God to actually do this. I do not the like price tag of $350 single LED lights, or $400 for a very basic T5 fixure without any bulbs - I dont get why a piece of aluminum on some string costs $400. The prices are outrageous. I couldnt agree more with you about the high prices and that its very expensive - but - so is a vacation to Disney, so is a wife, and you mentioned kid$ too. Whew! I think my reef tank just saved me from all three of those because I could never afford all that with this hobby. Sounds great to me, the fish can't *****, sass back, or need money for college. I'm in! Sorry to hear that you're calling it quits, man. After 29 years, I'd bet you're gonna miss this a hellovalot.

Have a happy new year, buddy. I hope you keep at least a small tank going - maybe sea horses? Best wishes, man, and good luck on your future endeavers.

me & my baby · Jan 6, 2020

My wife wants me to keep the tank in the basement just in case lol but I don’t like to let yanks sit like that

Dragon52 · Jan 6, 2020

Good luck in the future with whatever you do.

Skynyrd Fish · Jan 6, 2020

Take care of your health first. You can always set up another tank. And I agree, the new stuff is ridiculous in price. I saw a frag 1/2” for a grand on one of our sponsors sites. Kudos if you have the tank that can grow and color up that beast, but I’ll pass for a couple years till it’s $50 per frag! I’m running old school, lights on a timer, tunze ATO, dosing by pump, my reef keeper light handles my temp and heater, and my fuge light. Here’s a shot of my old school reef.