Trouble Deciding Just how Active I should be in the Hobby at This Point in my Life

livinlifeinBKK

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Hey guys, so I'd appreciate you guys' opinion on something (especially the veteran reefers who have been doing this for many years). I'm in my mid 20s and still have a little bit of college to go. I currently don't have a job since I'm studying full time overseas and it's very difficult to find work for a few different reasons so although I have enough money to support myself reasonably well, I wonder at times if I should be spending so much money on my tank or if it would be wiser to try and save money by putting very little money into the hobby. The thing is, I have loved the aquarium hobby all my life but due to financial restraints earlier in life I was unable to have a tank of my own until I was 19 (and that was an 8 gallon tank). Thats why now that I'm able to afford a little bit more, I feel like I've been waiting so long in a way I owe it to myself. On the other hand I'm sure all the money this hobby costs could be put to other worthy uses as well. What do you guys think? Is the learning and enjoyment I get out of the hobby enough that I should keep going how I've been going or should I scale it down? And btw, I don't spend crazy amounts of money but when you're in college in your 20s a little money feels like a lot. Thoughts?
 

shandoee

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I started the hobby at 18. Very little money from a part time job, going to college, and just wanted to party. Most times I was out of the house and paid little attention to the tank. I finally broke down the tank at age 23. If you love it, you will find a way. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. But I guess thinking about it now, I just liked it. But I could never achieve what I am achieving now. At the end of the day, you should ask yourself that. To me, it wasn’t worth it keeping my tank anymore. Fast forward almost 10 years, and now I’m loving it. Great job, nice pay, and lots of time for me to enjoy the hobby (aside from my family time).
 

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Only you can answer that !!! Only you know how much time and money you can afford . Sorry probably not the answer you were looking for .
 

goldfish423

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Hey guys, so I'd appreciate you guys' opinion on something (especially the veteran reefers who have been doing this for many years). I'm in my mid 20s and still have a little bit of college to go. I currently don't have a job since I'm studying full time overseas and it's very difficult to find work for a few different reasons so although I have enough money to support myself reasonably well, I wonder at times if I should be spending so much money on my tank or if it would be wiser to try and save money by putting very little money into the hobby. The thing is, I have loved the aquarium hobby all my life but due to financial restraints earlier in life I was unable to have a tank of my own until I was 19 (and that was an 8 gallon tank). Thats why now that I'm able to afford a little bit more, I feel like I've been waiting so long in a way I owe it to myself. On the other hand I'm sure all the money this hobby costs could be put to other worthy uses as well. What do you guys think? Is the learning and enjoyment I get out of the hobby enough that I should keep going how I've been going or should I scale it down? And btw, I don't spend crazy amounts of money but when you're in college in your 20s a little money feels like a lot. Thoughts?
I am living your life and having the same thoughts.
Besides the oversees studying
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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I started the hobby at 18. Very little money from a part time job, going to college, and just wanted to party. Most times I was out of the house and paid little attention to the tank. I finally broke down the tank at age 23. If you love it, you will find a way. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. But I guess thinking about it now, I just liked it. But I could never achieve what I am achieving now. At the end of the day, you should ask yourself that. To me, it wasn’t worth it keeping my tank anymore. Fast forward almost 10 years, and now I’m loving it. Great job, nice pay, and lots of time for me to enjoy the hobby (aside from my family time).
I don't plan on breaking down my tank anytime soon because as I have it now, the maintenance isn't costing very much but I don't know how wise it is for me to be adding more corals and things like that right now. I can control myself and everything but I think it's worth hearing the opinions of those who have been there and now have good perspective.
 

Tamberav

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Hey guys, so I'd appreciate you guys' opinion on something (especially the veteran reefers who have been doing this for many years). I'm in my mid 20s and still have a little bit of college to go. I currently don't have a job since I'm studying full time overseas and it's very difficult to find work for a few different reasons so although I have enough money to support myself reasonably well, I wonder at times if I should be spending so much money on my tank or if it would be wiser to try and save money by putting very little money into the hobby. The thing is, I have loved the aquarium hobby all my life but due to financial restraints earlier in life I was unable to have a tank of my own until I was 19 (and that was an 8 gallon tank). Thats why now that I'm able to afford a little bit more, I feel like I've been waiting so long in a way I owe it to myself. On the other hand I'm sure all the money this hobby costs could be put to other worthy uses as well. What do you guys think? Is the learning and enjoyment I get out of the hobby enough that I should keep going how I've been going or should I scale it down? And btw, I don't spend crazy amounts of money but when you're in college in your 20s a little money feels like a lot. Thoughts?
I kept tanks all through college. They were cheap petco tanks with black boxes due to limited funds. I had basic cheap fish… you know, clowns, yellow coris, mandarin, cardinal, royal gramma, etc. I also had cheap corals… cheap corals are still plenty colorful. Often times it just means they been around awhile.

Leave room for colonies to grow and don’t collect a million frags two inches apart. That way you don’t need to spend as much and besides….little frags and mini colonies don’t look as nice as a REAL colony if you give one space to grow.

Past that it is just basically 2 part and salt. Maybe carbon. I just use instant ocean even now. It has been proven to create beautiful tanks so I just don’t see the need to spend more.
 

Waynerock

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I really do love the hobby and I enjoy all I learn from it along with the community as well
I started my first tank when my wife was pregnant with our first. Money was stupid tight, I have no time or energy to spare for reefing. I always loved it and I made it work. I could never put a price on rocking my daughter to sleep under the blues of the tank, or how when life was just beating me down and I found it hard to go on I would spend time with the tank and all my problems would weigh a lot less and I could relax( even if it was just a bit it helped). George at coral fish 12g started out as a kid and by the time college came around he had 4 tanks in his dorm. He loved it so much he made it a way to make money and now look at him. Super successful. He was prob told no to or it’s too expensive or to wait till school is done but he loved it and followed his heart. IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT BROTHER!!
 

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What you are going to learn as you get older is that there are literally a million things that you can spend your money on. Then you learn that you need to focus on things that you really want to do and drop all of the other crap. Focus on a few things that you enjoy. You need to spend money. It is the nature of the beast. If you don't spend money on the right thing what you find is that you feel like you are not getting what you want. This tells you if you are being effective in spending or not.

Once you understand what to spend on then spend on it. Don't skimp but don't blow your budget out. What you find is that you will accumulate lots of stuff and knowledge that you wil continually use and need. You figure out how to get things that will fit your budget and constraints, because you enjoy what you are doing.

Being overseas presents problems. Think about and solve those problems. If you enjoy what you are doing then solving these kind of problems will be relaxing and mediative. If you find that you are constantly frustrated and you just want to "arrive" at some destination then you are probably not where you need to be and you should definitely re-think you decision to be in the hobby.

Best of luck on your decision. :)
 
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livinlifeinBKK

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I started my first tank when my wife was pregnant with our first. Money was stupid tight, I have no time or energy to spare for reefing. I always loved it and I made it work. I could never put a price on rocking my daughter to sleep under the blues of the tank, or how when life was just beating me down and I found it hard to go on I would spend time with the tank and all my problems would weigh a lot less and I could relax( even if it was just a bit it helped). George at coral fish 12g started out as a kid and by the time college came around he had 4 tanks in his dorm. He loved it so much he made it a way to make money and now look at him. Super successful. He was prob told no to or it’s too expensive or to wait till school is done but he loved it and followed his heart. IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT BROTHER!!
I'd love to turn my love for the hobby into something I can make money with after I graduate! I'm actually majoring in environmental science right now but would like to pursue a Master's in Marine Biology
 
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livinlifeinBKK

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What you are going to learn as you get older is that there are literally a million things that you can spend your money on. Then you learn that you need to focus on things that you really want to do and drop all of the other crap. Focus on a few things that you enjoy. You need to spend money. It is the nature of the beast. If you don't spend money on the right thing what you find is that you feel like you are not getting what you want. This tells you if you are being effective in spending or not.

Once you understand what to spend on then spend on it. Don't skimp but don't blow your budget out. What you find is that you will accumulate lots of stuff and knowledge that you wil continually use and need. You figure out how to get things that will fit your budget and constraints, because you enjoy what you are doing.

Being overseas presents problems. Think about and solve those problems. If you enjoy what you are doing then solving these kind of problems will be relaxing and mediative. If you find that you are constantly frustrated and you just want to "arrive" at some destination then you are probably not where you need to be and you should definitely re-think you decision to be in the hobby.

Best of luck on your decision. :)
Oh it's definitely not a source of frustration and stress for me...I even gave away my TV to have somewhere to put my tank
 

Jedi1199

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@livinlifeinBKK This is not a question we can really answer.

It is your life, your money, your desires... You have to make this decision yourself.

Are you asking this question because you feel you are spending too much on this hobby to support yourself?

As with all things in life, you will find that even the passions you love, come 2nd to the necessities. It is entirely up to you to decide what those "necessary" things are.

I am assuming that you have not married and started a family yet... You will find that will forever change your priorities.

Whatever you decide, I am sure it will be the best choice for you at the time. We will be here when you come back if you choose to hang it up for a while.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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@livinlifeinBKK This is not a question we can really answer.

It is your life, your money, your desires... You have to make this decision yourself.

Are you asking this question because you feel you are spending too much on this hobby to support yourself?

As with all things in life, you will find that even the passions you love, come 2nd to the necessities. It is entirely up to you to decide what those "necessary" things are.

I am assuming that you have not married and started a family yet... You will find that will forever change your priorities.

Whatever you decide, I am sure it will be the best choice for you at the time. We will be here when you come back if you choose to hang it up for a while.
I'm not asking you guys to make the decision for me...I take responsibility for my choices whatever they may be...I just want the insight of those who know a lot more about the way things work after this point in my life has gone by
 

Waynerock

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I'd love to turn my love for the hobby into something I can make money with after I graduate! I'm actually majoring in environmental science right now but would like to pursue a Master's in Marine Biology
Brother you are the only one that can make that dream happen or not happen. Follow your heart! Having another super passionate marine biologist sounds like a good thing to me. Quick tip, if you love it so much and want to go far in life being able to live around and studying on the reefs don’t have kids. Haha I love my kids but dang I could have such a huge tank with the money and time I have spent on them.
 

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