Too Old To Reef: How long do you expect to be in the hobby and will older age dictate when you break your tanks down for good?

[biomekanic]

There are many reasons why people have to give up their reef tanks. But I've seen countless members say they will always have a reef tank in their life. That being said there will come a time when they might not be able to care for a reef anymore due to age. So let's talk about that for today.

How long do you expect to be in the hobby and will older age dictate when you break your tanks down for good?

image via @ChristopherKriens

I'm 52 and getting back into the hobby again after 15 years.

I don't see me getting out again.

 

[Braves Fan]

65 and just set up a second tank yesterday ,,

 

[Leto987]

I’m in the group that wants things automated the older I get!!. Time is precious, saving a few minutes here and there has become a goal. Modern reeding equipment has definitely made things easier!

 

[atoll]

I’m in the group that wants things automated the older I get!!. Time is precious, saving a few minutes here and there has become a goal. Modern reeding equipment has definitely made things easier!

Or getting more complicated. As I get older that's the way it seems even over complicated. I like to keep things relatively simple and can't be doing with all this programming and calibration.

 

[rainmaker]

I'm 60 now and have been having thoughts on my next tank
And don't believe I could give up my pets

 

[Ron Reefman]

I'll be 71 in a few months and I'm just tearing down a full of life 40g cube with a 30g sump/refugium in order to set up a brand new 90g tank (36" x 30" x 20") that I just built myself! I wanted the bigger tank after downsizing a couple of times over the last 10 years, because I've made life easier by keeping mostly zoas and Rock Flower Anemones!

 

[albano]

I'll be 71 in a few months and I'm just tearing down a full of life 40g cube...in order to set up a brand new 90g tank ...

Congrats Ron... “Never give up, never surrender!”

 

[Salty Lemon]

I can imagine...

1. Downsizing because my tank might be eventually too big to haul my 85-year-old butt into to clean.
2. Moving to a FOWLR tank because I won't want my sons/husband to have to figure out what to do with the corals if I die.
3. If I have to, I can move to freshwater again. I honestly believe that if you are selective, know your species and what you are doing, your tank can be almost as beautiful as a saltwater tank.
4. My family loves me. I'll have a mini 1 gallon tank in the nursing home and will make certain it is taken care of.

 

[Marksreef]

20 years into reefing and 55 years old, I'd have to say 10 more years (65 yrs old) when I snow bird SOUTH and maybe pick it back up if I get too old to go back and forth

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I like the idea of reefing until I die. I have a condition called Ehlers Danlos, and weird symptoms and neurological stuff just keeps popping up. Fatigue and low muscle tone gets in the way of any other things I want to do, so this is a nice sit down kind of hobby with pleasing results.

 

[Rubymoon286]

I'd love to say forever, but even now at twenty eight I have several disabilities relating to autoimmune stuff. I'm going to do it as long as I possibly can, but I know that the day I can't complete required maintenance I'll have to give up the hobby for the sake of my tank. Hopefully it's a long time from now

 

[Hermey]

Being that elves dont age, I would say at least until the year 3126. After that who knows.

 

[Maltese]

Too Old To Reef: How long do you expect to be in the hobby and will older age dictate when you break your tanks down for good?

Hi to all. At the age of 43, i was diagnosed with a rare disease in my whole spine and it's degenerative there is no cure. Depression kills me. Now i am 50 years old and i am fully bounded in a wheelchair, i don't walk. Pain is the most crucial battle dough having very potent pain killers and pain management. Other symptoms came out through years like Fibromyalgia became incontinent, i had to stop working, financially i went to nearly broke ( I spend thousands of money for my health ) My pain is when something broke like a protein skimmer, it's very hard for me now but still, my reef tank is my healing cure. I can't do water changes but a little help of my father we do it.

What I'm trying to tell you is that courage is the key. I really do love my reef tank, no matter what.

 

[Maltese]

I'd love to say forever, but even now at twenty eight I have several disabilities relating to autoimmune stuff. I'm going to do it as long as I possibly can, but I know that the day I can't complete required maintenance I'll have to give up the hobby for the sake of my tank. Hopefully it's a long time from now

Never give up!!

 

[LisaMarie]

Too old? Never. I'm brainwashing my grandkids into reefing (and hopefully my great grandkids one day). They LOVE it. I'll always have some helpers.

Seriously though.... when I lost most of my eyesight I quit reefing for awhile and learned that there is no life without reefing. Lesson well learned. There's always a way to accommodate any ability or disability level to reefing. Getting older just means finding better ways to do things. Work smarter not harder.

 

[Sleepydoc]

It’s not the age, it’s time and money!

 

[tony'stank]

I started with freshwater at 10 y/o. I am now 72 and have been reefing for 37 years. I have switched to the Triton/ ATI system on my RSR450 to limit difficult water changes. Because of a recent serious illness I am have an LFS hook up my ATO system directly to my RO/Di water system so I don’t have to carry buckets. If I get to where I can’t do basic maintainence I will hire a company

 

[Aquaman11]

There are many reasons why people have to give up their reef tanks. But I've seen countless members say they will always have a reef tank in their life. That being said there will come a time when they might not be able to care for a reef anymore due to age. So let's talk about that for today.

How long do you expect to be in the hobby and will older age dictate when you break your tanks down for good?

image via @ChristopherKriens

I did a new build of an SPS dominant 180 gal. reef in February and I am 68. I plan on many more years of reefing.

 

[Stigigemla]

I am 73 now and having my own LFS. I expect to run the shop at least until I am 80.
I have had tanks since I was 13 and I beleive I will have 1 in the nursing home too.
But it will be some time before that. This Year I have been paving in my garden and I still can unload a ton of concrete plates in an hour. So carrying in 20 salt buckets when they are delivered is not a problem yet.
Age is not the problem. The problem is if You get arthritis ore some other sickness that limits You.

 

[oldbob50]

Almost 70 now. I have already made provisions with a local LFS to handle the dismantling and sale of my tanks when I'm gone. The wife loves the tanks but would not be able to do all of the required maintenance. Right now I'm still working and still reefing. Don't have any plans to change either in the near future.