Relaxing Hobby?

[RusticsReef]

I've had a reef tank for most of my adult life (I'm 56) and I'm now really questioning whether I receive one ounce of relaxation from this hobby. Yes its a beautiful addition to our home and friends are amazed when they come over and see our tank. With that said I'm in a constant state of concern with issues that keep me from truly enjoying this hobby. Putting aside cost and other obvious concerns with running a 200 gallon system flowing from my dining room to my basement and back, I find myself in constant worry about the health of my corals and if they're getting enough or too much light, flow, nutrients, food etc etc... and then there's the heath of the fish, and the hair algae that came and went and came again. Oh and now I have Asterina starfish that seem to be eating my torches... and on and on and on. Then I find myself watching my Apex Fusion like a hawk and wondering why my Alkaline, Calcium and Mag isn't exactly where I set it at. To make matters worse I go online and see these amazing tanks with seemingly no issues and wonder what they're doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Ah, nevermind. just needed to vent.

 

[Fish Styx]

I've had a reef tank for most of my adult life (I'm 56) and I'm now really questioning whether I receive one ounce of relaxation from this hobby. Yes its a beautiful addition to our home and friends are amazed when they come over and see our tank. With that said I'm in a constant state of concern with issues that keep me from truly enjoying this hobby. Putting aside cost and other obvious concerns with running a 200 gallon system flowing from my dining room to my basement and back, I find myself in constant worry about the health of my corals and if they're getting enough or too much light, flow, nutrients, food etc etc... and then there's the heath of the fish, and the hair algae that came and went and came again. Oh and now I have Asterina starfish that seem to be eating my torches... and on and on and on. Then I find myself watching my Apex Fusion like a hawk and wondering why my Alkaline, Calcium and Mag isn't exactly where I set it at. To make matters worse I go online and see these amazing tanks with seemingly no issues and wonder what they're doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Ah, nevermind. just needed to vent.

Behind every success is a thousand failures, and an equal number of sleepless nights. Every, and I mean EVERY, system has their challenges. Unfortunately, like with a lot of social media, you only get to see the highlight reel.

If it's any consolation to you, I feel the same at times. As I'm sure many others do, as well. My other "relaxing" hobby is golf. My wife, The Dainty Dictator, calls me a glutton for punishment...

 

[Paul B]

I don't worry about any of those things. I rarely test anything and even when I go on a trip, I never worry. I have also had my tank for decades.

 

[JZ199]

Have you always felt this way or did the worry just start recently? You may have to simplify or downsize if you can't find a way to start enjoying it. Your setup does sound pretty awesome though and I hope you can start enjoying it again! I also agree with the other comment, social media and online, most people just show the best side, or a few pictures to make everything look great and don't show the ugly side or talk about any of the issues being had. Kind of like watching Tankd when they load the tank up and it looks amazing and perfect, but then a few days later when they would crash and have issues.

I noticed your location says Bethel, is that Bethel Pennsylvania? If so you're only about a half hour away from me!

 

[piranhaman00]

Yup I agree haha but that shows you care.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I mean, if you didn't care about your tank you probably wouldn't worry about it haha. I feel the same way when I go out of town for a couple of days, wondering if everything is still going to be alive in my tank or a graveyard.

 

[Sarcasm Included]

I've had a reef tank for most of my adult life (I'm 56) and I'm now really questioning whether I receive one ounce of relaxation from this hobby. Yes its a beautiful addition to our home and friends are amazed when they come over and see our tank. With that said I'm in a constant state of concern with issues that keep me from truly enjoying this hobby. Putting aside cost and other obvious concerns with running a 200 gallon system flowing from my dining room to my basement and back, I find myself in constant worry about the health of my corals and if they're getting enough or too much light, flow, nutrients, food etc etc... and then there's the heath of the fish, and the hair algae that came and went and came again. Oh and now I have Asterina starfish that seem to be eating my torches... and on and on and on. Then I find myself watching my Apex Fusion like a hawk and wondering why my Alkaline, Calcium and Mag isn't exactly where I set it at. To make matters worse I go online and see these amazing tanks with seemingly no issues and wonder what they're doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Ah, nevermind. just needed to vent.

Try skydiving, jumping out of a plane puts all other problems in a different perspective

 

[lil sumpin]

I just got into the reefing hobby a few months ago and have begun to find myself getting more and more concerned. Your concerns paint a picture of what things might look like down the road… :’) Generally I will consider my self resilient and try to persevere through issues. Hopefully I’m also blessed w a bit of luck!
I do think that ounce of gumption is what sets apart reefers.

on a side note, social media hacks and big businesses are in cahoots hahah before I start sounding like a conspiracist just wanna throw in what they really wanna ingrain in our heads is the idea of better is best. Means more envy and self scrutiny on our parts, often causing us to forget how hard we work and how much thought we already put into our tanks.

… and we end up spending an arm, leg and a kidney to catch up to the new standard

 

[o2manyfish]

I'm 54 and have had a salt tank since 17. I've had successes and failures. I've found that I enjoy my system the most the less I care about it. When I stopped watching the levels, and trying to maintain all the different additives, that gave me more time to not have to think about the tank and just watch it. WIth Kalkwasser and Calc Rx my tank runs about a month before it needs interaction from me.

My worries is about cleaning the glass. And with over 40 sq ft of acrylic to clean it keeps me busy. Also, if budget allows finding a local service company to handle the crappy jobs makes things a little better. I have a company that comes out on call when the coraline appears on the glass and the corners get algae filled - Just cause this is a crappy and tedious job that I hate doing.

There are amazing tanks that get no maintenance. There are amazing tanks that watch every little thing meticulously. This hobby has a wide range of variables that it will accept. You can have success using forward thinking and planning without having to helicopter watch and monitor the tank. You may not have the fastest growth or the ultimate of ultimate of colors. But your time to enjoy the tank, or the value of the time you get not being spent on tank may be more important to you.

Dave B