Pretty Gear? How important is it for you to have your equipment "look good?"

[The_Skrimp]

I gave up on that because my skimmer gets cruddy in just a few days and my sump is covered in coraline. It just seems like too much work to have a “show” sump when I could give that extra attention to my display instead. I keep it clean enough and make sure everything’s working.

 

[KonradTO]

I am too poor to care about how equipment look lol. First and only necessity is to keep livestock well, so stuff must be cheap and work good enough to maintain everything alive

 

[Toob]

All matchy matchy DIY... could still be more tidy

So jelly of your fish room - can you share
the tank itself?

All matchy matchy DIY... could still be more tidy

 

[In the sticks]

Not super clean but not super messy. Always looking for ways to make it look super sexy down there any advice?

 

[BanjoBandito]

Is it really

Nah, I'm probably just being grumpy. I just get upset with this increasing movement that you need a lot of equipment and/or it's a luxury hobby. There's some pretty big barriers to get new people into this hobby and I just see post after post of people showing their order from BRS with 5 radions and all the fixins, or these huge money dumps without any actual fish or successful reef keeping. LOOK HOW MUCH I SPENT! There's some general "snobbery" going on in reef keeping that rubs me the wrong way. Especially on the forums and social media. Real world, not so much. I mean, if you take pride in a neat, well constructed, top dollar system then by all means, I'm happy for you. I'm more concerned as to what the tank livestock looks like. I mean there's definitely "jank" setups that look awful and are doomed to fail, sure....but for the most part the idea of these premier equipment hookups and setups is sill to me. Just an opinion.

 

[SilverBulletPRN]

I would love to have the nice shiney object, but this hobby makes it so expensive and after awhile you realize that most of the basics will get you pretty far. You don't need all this high tech gear to get pretty good results

 

[Quietman]

Pretty is as pretty does.

 

[zirky]

I just enjoy the build as much as collecting livestock

 

[Pugs508]

In reference to some recent comments. My opinion is, people who are okay spending the money on quality proper equipment are more likely to maintain better husbandry of their tanks. People who spend the bare minimum to just get a setup going are the same personalities who do the bare minimum to care for their tanks. I enjoy the tech side of aquarium keeping and into gadgets. These things allow me to enjoy my tank more and give me the extra time to spend with my family knowing my tank is being sort of managed without me while also giving me 24/7 access to know whats going on.

 

[editour2]

I like it as neat as possible.....but some of you guys have it looking perfect. I wont say that Im perfect because that would be a lie but I dont like wires all over the place and I am paranoid about potential fire hazards.......I've had a few mishaps even while being cognizant of this....so its always a concern.

 

[jhuntstl]

At some point I'd like it to look nice and tidy, but that's a long ways off.

 

[Doctorgori]

some say aesthetics don’t matter, but in some hobby circles, the “look” is part of it. Moreover I do buy into the fact that keeping stuff looking good usually likewise maintains it… Would a crappy but fast hot rod past muster in some clubs?

I’m working on my new guys as we speak

 

[ReefStash]

I like a tank to be part of the room and I put a lot of attention to detail in my builds. It doesn’t have to be perfect but I do my best to make it look clean with a theme of some sort.

 

[Nate Chalk]

What are those cool big tongs you've got there? Want!!

Same!

 

[Jeromi Critikos]

I wish I could get my setup nice and sleek, but I have absolutely NO talent for it, and worse yet, I can't bend over long enough to get it done.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

Well written! Perhaps English as a first language (a.k.a., grammar) would not be a lost art if schools (even advanced programs!) did not actively throw it out of the window.

 

[ArachnoJoozt]

Voted 'neat but not obsessive'

All the sockets and equipment used to be below the sump, very tight and a nightmare to work in. Also the top up rodi container was next to the aquarium. Bought 2 cabinets from a well known swedish store, very happy with the situation now, easy to work on, much safer with the electrics away from the water.

The old situation:

How it is now:

Doors closed

 

[Doctorgori]

Voted 'neat but not obsessive'

All the sockets and equipment used to be below the sump, very tight and a nightmare to work in. Also the top up rodi container was next to the aquarium. Bought 2 cabinets from a well known swedish store, very happy with the situation now, easy to work on, much safer with the electrics away from the water.

The old situation:

How it is now:

Doors closed

yeah it’s waaaaay smarter not putting your expensive gear underneath gallons and gallons of water….I just woke up to this…

 

[ArachnoJoozt]

yeah it’s waaaaay smarter not putting your expensive gear underneath gallons and gallons of water….I just woke up to this…

Ah man... Thats a nightmare! Hope you can salvage someting, and that there are no losses in the aquarium!

 

[Paul B]

Not important at all for me. I only want healthy creatures and if that means my equipment is made out of wood, so be it.