Not sure how much my heart is in this anymore

[Gregg @ ADP]

After almost 30 years of ‘professionally’ (whatever that even means) managing other people’s reef aquariums, and nearly 20 years of having my own company, I found myself staring into a client tank that was having a relatively minor, but annoying and entirely predictable, issues with some of the coral, and I asked myself out-loud, ‘Do I even care anymore?’.

I really shouldn’t complain or be ungrateful. I’ve been able to live a good life, work for real-life celebrities, work with reef-world celebrities, and make a good living doing what many people do as a hobby.

But it can just be so frustrating. Too many things I can’t control that I’m still responsible for regardless. It just gets disheartening sometimes.

I spend a lot of time on here looking at member’s tanks. There are a lot of really beautiful, amazing tanks. I’ve been around reef tanks a little bit, and feel like I’m capable of making tanks just as beautiful. Often I can…for a little while. But with only a few hours a month to work on a client’s tank, and God-knows-what happening to it the rest of the time, it’s almost always just a matter of time before something goes wrong. It’s not always devastating…as was the case with the most recent head-slap moment…but it all adds up.

I have a lawyer client who has a nice 150gal reef. I’ve worked for him for almost 20 years, and over the years the tanks have changed, and he has moved a couple of times. The building he is in now often turns the A/C off on weekends before June. On two different occasions, with the tank looking amazing, they have turned the A/C off on Memorial Day weekends when the temps in Chicago have gotten into the mid-90s. Cooked the tank twice…as in, nearly total wipeout.

This last year, I had a new client putting a 550gal into a new home build. Everything was on schedule, but there was a little wrinkle. The client was from Ukraine, and had a business in Ukraine. The war pretty much wiped out his biz. He then apparently had to choose between dealing with owing US banks millions of dollars he didn’t have, or dealing with a war. Looks like he chose war. Guy is gone. Now, not only do I not have a cool new tank to work on, but I’m down several thousands of dollars even with a deposit.

These tanks also have a shelf-life. I have a number of very long-term clients who are probably toward the end. A few are spending half of their year in places like Florida. I obviously still have access to the tanks, but now there are zero eyes on it at any point in-between. This is obviously problematic. It’s just too easy for little things to go in the wrong direction. This last thing to wrong…client headed south for the winter, and turned their heat down to like 60. Yeah, I’ve got a good sized heater on the tank, but not good sized enough to keep 500 gal of water in the upper-70s in a 60 degree house. Naturally, by the time I realized what was happening, the tank had spent almost a week in ~upper-60s or so water…pretty much everything bleached. Will a lot of it come back? Yeah…eventually. In like 5 or 6 months, if the corals live that long.

Anyway…just needed to rant. I’m at an inflection point. Businesses don’t run themselves. I need to decide if this thing is going to be a part of my next chapter.

 

[homer1475]

When it stops being fun, it's not worth it anymore.

Whats the old saying......

"If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

Even if you love it, it's still work at times.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Everything I’ve read is out of your control, the owner of the tanks should always be the first interested in keeping the good health of their animals.
Having you is just a bonus to ensure long therm success.

 

[TheReefDiary]

After almost 30 years of ‘professionally’ (whatever that even means) managing other people’s reef aquariums, and nearly 20 years of having my own company, I found myself staring into a client tank that was having a relatively minor, but annoying and entirely predictable, issues with some of the coral, and I asked myself out-loud, ‘Do I even care anymore?’.

I really shouldn’t complain or be ungrateful. I’ve been able to live a good life, work for real-life celebrities, work with reef-world celebrities, and make a good living doing what many people do as a hobby.

But it can just be so frustrating. Too many things I can’t control that I’m still responsible for regardless. It just gets disheartening sometimes.

I spend a lot of time on here looking at member’s tanks. There are a lot of really beautiful, amazing tanks. I’ve been around reef tanks a little bit, and feel like I’m capable of making tanks just as beautiful. Often I can…for a little while. But with only a few hours a month to work on a client’s tank, and God-knows-what happening to it the rest of the time, it’s almost always just a matter of time before something goes wrong. It’s not always devastating…as was the case with the most recent head-slap moment…but it all adds up.

I have a lawyer client who has a nice 150gal reef. I’ve worked for him for almost 20 years, and over the years the tanks have changed, and he has moved a couple of times. The building he is in now often turns the A/C off on weekends before June. On two different occasions, with the tank looking amazing, they have turned the A/C off on Memorial Day weekends when the temps in Chicago have gotten into the mid-90s. Cooked the tank twice…as in, nearly total wipeout.

This last year, I had a new client putting a 550gal into a new home build. Everything was on schedule, but there was a little wrinkle. The client was from Ukraine, and had a business in Ukraine. The war pretty much wiped out his biz. He then apparently had to choose between dealing with owing US banks millions of dollars he didn’t have, or dealing with a war. Looks like he chose war. Guy is gone. Now, not only do I not have a cool new tank to work on, but I’m down several thousands of dollars even with a deposit.

These tanks also have a shelf-life. I have a number of very long-term clients who are probably toward the end. A few are spending half of their year in places like Florida. I obviously still have access to the tanks, but now there are zero eyes on it at any point in-between. This is obviously problematic. It’s just too easy for little things to go in the wrong direction. This last thing to wrong…client headed south for the winter, and turned their heat down to like 60. Yeah, I’ve got a good sized heater on the tank, but not good sized enough to keep 500 gal of water in the upper-70s in a 60 degree house. Naturally, by the time I realized what was happening, the tank had spent almost a week in ~upper-60s or so water…pretty much everything bleached. Will a lot of it come back? Yeah…eventually. In like 5 or 6 months, if the corals live that long.

Anyway…just needed to rant. I’m at an inflection point. Businesses don’t run themselves. I need to decide if this thing is going to be a part of my next chapter.

whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck. you've been in the industry for years so I don't think anyone can say anything to change your feelings. however, I personally think you should be fair to yourself. this hobby is difficult no matter how long youve been in it. I run my own construction business and I find myself asking the same thing sometimes. there are so many things out of my control that people don't understand and yet to them its either your fault or you should've somehow known. I've come to terms with that and try not stress over it anymore. that being said if you feel like you're so worm out in this industry maybe it's time to do something else if you have the luxury to do so. if something else lights your fire why not give it a try.

best of luck!

 

[HomebroodExotics]

After almost 30 years of ‘professionally’ (whatever that even means) managing other people’s reef aquariums, and nearly 20 years of having my own company, I found myself staring into a client tank that was having a relatively minor, but annoying and entirely predictable, issues with some of the coral, and I asked myself out-loud, ‘Do I even care anymore?’.

I really shouldn’t complain or be ungrateful. I’ve been able to live a good life, work for real-life celebrities, work with reef-world celebrities, and make a good living doing what many people do as a hobby.

But it can just be so frustrating. Too many things I can’t control that I’m still responsible for regardless. It just gets disheartening sometimes.

I spend a lot of time on here looking at member’s tanks. There are a lot of really beautiful, amazing tanks. I’ve been around reef tanks a little bit, and feel like I’m capable of making tanks just as beautiful. Often I can…for a little while. But with only a few hours a month to work on a client’s tank, and God-knows-what happening to it the rest of the time, it’s almost always just a matter of time before something goes wrong. It’s not always devastating…as was the case with the most recent head-slap moment…but it all adds up.

I have a lawyer client who has a nice 150gal reef. I’ve worked for him for almost 20 years, and over the years the tanks have changed, and he has moved a couple of times. The building he is in now often turns the A/C off on weekends before June. On two different occasions, with the tank looking amazing, they have turned the A/C off on Memorial Day weekends when the temps in Chicago have gotten into the mid-90s. Cooked the tank twice…as in, nearly total wipeout.

This last year, I had a new client putting a 550gal into a new home build. Everything was on schedule, but there was a little wrinkle. The client was from Ukraine, and had a business in Ukraine. The war pretty much wiped out his biz. He then apparently had to choose between dealing with owing US banks millions of dollars he didn’t have, or dealing with a war. Looks like he chose war. Guy is gone. Now, not only do I not have a cool new tank to work on, but I’m down several thousands of dollars even with a deposit.

These tanks also have a shelf-life. I have a number of very long-term clients who are probably toward the end. A few are spending half of their year in places like Florida. I obviously still have access to the tanks, but now there are zero eyes on it at any point in-between. This is obviously problematic. It’s just too easy for little things to go in the wrong direction. This last thing to wrong…client headed south for the winter, and turned their heat down to like 60. Yeah, I’ve got a good sized heater on the tank, but not good sized enough to keep 500 gal of water in the upper-70s in a 60 degree house. Naturally, by the time I realized what was happening, the tank had spent almost a week in ~upper-60s or so water…pretty much everything bleached. Will a lot of it come back? Yeah…eventually. In like 5 or 6 months, if the corals live that long.

Anyway…just needed to rant. I’m at an inflection point. Businesses don’t run themselves. I need to decide if this thing is going to be a part of my next chapter.

Sounds like you just need better clients. You have the experience and reputations from the sounds of it so be more particular about who you work for and charge them appropriately for the excellent service that you would prefer to give.

 

[flashsmith]

Sometimes you need a change. I was a Professional Golf Course Superintendent for 20 years. I managed my own courses and went to work for a construction company overseeing projects all over the Country. I oversaw renovations at courses that most people spend a lifetime dreaming about seeing in person. I've had the opportunity to renovate major Stadiums from MLB to Nascar fields from the inside. To most this would be a dream job to be at all those places. Six years ago I was so burned out I walked away from a lifelong career and started a small lawn/irrigation business. I haven't used an alarm clock since and probably added years to my life shedding all that stress. I'm way over qualified for what I do now but I don't care in the least or how anyone else perceives me as a "lawn" guy. I'm happy and in control and that's what matters at the end of the day. You can always go back to it if you need a break.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

When it stops being fun, it's not worth it anymore.

Whats the old saying......

"If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

Even if you love it, it's still work at times.

I still love it. Always will. Even the work part is still fun for me.

But over the last few years, I’ve moved into the classroom as a science teacher, which has a completely different reward structure and focus. That said, I still have time to do the biz.

In fact, I started a little reef system in my class that is very quickly becoming my favorite system I do.

It is time for me to be serious about marketing if I want to continue on. This is where I’m asking myself if I have it in me. And do I want to keep dealing with this stuff?

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Sounds like you just need better clients. You have the experience and reputations from the sounds of it so be more particular about who you work for and charge them appropriately for the excellent service that you would prefer to give.

I can’t really complain about my clients. They have full faith and trust in me, and pretty much just go along with whatever I advise. And being honest…I’m not cheap.

I fairly regularly refer new prospects to another company, so I’m pretty selective.

I did this for several years for a couple other companies, and have had lots of clients over the years. No complaints about the ones I have.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Also, to be clear, this isn’t a ‘whoa is me’ thread, nor am I looking for sympathy.

Guess maybe it’s a combination of frustration and having questions about what’s next. Just not sure if I have the juice to go back into growth mode.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I have a lawyer client who has a nice 150gal reef. I’ve worked for him for almost 20 years, and over the years the tanks have changed, and he has moved a couple of times. The building he is in now often turns the A/C off on weekends before June. On two different occasions, with the tank looking amazing, they have turned the A/C off on Memorial Day weekends when the temps in Chicago have gotten into the mid-90s. Cooked the tank twice…as in, nearly total wipeout.

Bumping this thread due to this particular client.

3 weeks after I posted this thread, this client’s building heat went out during the big winter storm that hit Chicago right before Christmas (12/22). The building claims that a circuit tripped or something, but really, they just turned the heat way down. Like, WAY down.

Building interior temps got down to 50 for several days (highs in the low single digits and building closed for several days due to the holiday). Needless to say, total wipeout on all 3 tanks in the office.

Fast-forward to today, when the tanks are finally starting to look good again…guess what happens. Highs in Chicago in the low single digits, with lows of -10. Building interior temps down BELOW 50 this morning. The main tank (150g) has largely been spared, because I doubled up on heaters. When I say spared, I mean the temp is 72 after 5 hours of building heat being turned up. I would imagine the corals are going to bleach pretty hard after this.

The other 2 40g cubes are in the upper 50s. That’s with heaters in them. Interestingly, the cleaner shrimp are still alive.

To update my feelings, I’ve made some strategic moves to keep going forward but with a diminished role. New website (with actual SEO) dropping soon, and we have had some new things coming in to kinda get my blood flowing a little (including a potential 10k gal tank).

But days like today just suck the wind out of my sails. Thanks for listening (reading).

 

[ryanjohn1]

Yikes

 

[vlangel]

I can’t really complain about my clients. They have full faith and trust in me, and pretty much just go along with whatever I advise. And being honest…I’m not cheap.

I fairly regularly refer new prospects to another company, so I’m pretty selective.

I did this for several years for a couple other companies, and have had lots of clients over the years. No complaints about the ones I have.

Hey Gregg, I understand as I used to service tanks for a lfs. It sounds like you have been doing this longer and in a bigger way than I did, as I was only a part time employee. What I relate to when I read your post is the lack of control. Its the nature of the beast when you are only there once a month or so caring and maintaining tanks.

Now that I am retired and have been for some time, I am free to enjoy my own reef. However, even in that I have moved from trying to keep challenging creatures to keeping common hardy animals that are beautiful in their own right. It allows me time to enjoy my reef hobby while still enjoying other things too. I hope that you are able to enjoy reefing in some capacity.

 

[jabberwock]

I struggled with "problems" at work for many years. I did not understand why things could not just go the way they are supposed to. In the last few years, I have come to accept problems, and altered my view of them to be "opportunities". If problems did not exist, I would not be necessary.

That being said, we are talking about living creatures here. I would add a clause in your contractual language about the basic responsibilities of the client, and also talk about things "beyond your control". When I was writing UAV proposals I included language about unforeseen events such as weather or bird strikes. Indemnify yourself and recoup costs when you have to put in extra effort because of events that are beyond your control.

Because you have experienced these issues, it makes you more of an expert to be an agent of reality to your clients. "Mr. Client, I have been there, done that, and I am planning for it with your tank. That is why it is a little more expensive."

I wish you the best!

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I struggled with "problems" at work for many years. I did not understand why things could not just go the way they are supposed to. In the last few years, I have come to accept problems, and altered my view of them to be "opportunities". If problems did not exist, I would not be necessary.

That being said, we are talking about living creatures here. I would add a clause in your contractual language about the basic responsibilities of the client, and also talk about things "beyond your control". When I was writing UAV proposals I included language about unforeseen events such as weather or bird strikes. Indemnify yourself and recoup costs when you have to put in extra effort because of events that are beyond your control.

Because you have experienced these issues, it makes you more of an expert to be an agent of reality to your clients. "Mr. Client, I have been there, done that, and I am planning for it with your tank. That is why it is a little more expensive."

I wish you the best!

Thanks. That’s great advice.

I’m definitely protected. And I protect my clients. I even state explicitly (very explicitly) in the consultation stage that what I design and how I manage the system does not guarantee success, but rather that what I do provides them an excellent opportunity to successfully keep what is arguably the world’s most ecosystem. Nothing more.

Even the client in my thread bump…not sure what the losses are this time around, but last time he lost $6k worth of stuff. Of course I hooked him up, but he still spent a bunch of money with me rebuilding.

So it’s not really about the money. I’m in a good spot, and these days I have a teacher salary as my base, so I’m not living and dying with biz profits and losses.

It’s like the poster above stated…just no control. Even if I could go in to a house several times a week, it just seems like it’s only a matter of time before the beautiful tank I’m working on looks like the surface of the moon.

Remember Kent Marine’s contaminated carbon from several years back? That completely wiped out inverts (fish didn’t seem fazed) in something like 7 or 8 of the tanks I did before I realized what was happening. One of them had a derasa clam that had been in the tank for like 10 years and was probably 15” long. I know stuff like this happens to most people, but it just seems amplified with the multiplier effect of dozens of tanks.

Sometimes I show up at a tank and a bunch of corals are either bleached or dead…with no indication or clue as to what happened. It’s deflating.