What do you enjoy the most as a reefer?

What do you enjoy the most about reefing?

  • Fish

    Votes: 43 37.1%
  • Corals

    Votes: 59 50.9%
  • Equipment

    Votes: 17 14.7%
  • Therapeutic

    Votes: 50 43.1%
  • Ecosystem Control

    Votes: 18 15.5%
  • Having a piece of the Ocean

    Votes: 62 53.4%
  • Just for the view

    Votes: 19 16.4%
  • Others

    Votes: 9 7.8%
  • Having something to work on

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Total voters
    116

vetteguy53081

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Having a piece of the ocean with many cool specimens. People view you as a master chemist....... LOL
I REMEMBER WHEN I USED TO WATCH TV AND GLANCE AT THE TANK ......... now i watch the tank and glance at the tv
 
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PanchoG

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Having a piece of the ocean with many cool specimens. People view you as a master chemist....... LOL
I REMEMBER WHEN I USED TO WATCH TV AND GLANCE AT THE TANK ......... now i watch the tank and glance at the tv
Oh yes! or as @SPR1968 does with a good “spirited” drink.
 

Mrreefercanada

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Definitely the calming effect #1 for myself. #2 would be the challenges of reef keeping in general which covers all the items we do every day.( water parameters, fish / coral health, equipment and more equipment?, tank maintenance) #3 meeting great people of all walks of life that all share this love for this wonderful hobby.
 

Daniel@R2R

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Tough to narrow down... it's definitely the fish... I mean the corals... I mean the fish... I mean the corals... :cool:
 

Scurvy

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For me its a little bit of everything and much like @GoVols it can change month to month or year to year. I enjoy building a system as much or possibly more than any particular piece of the hobby but also find working on my tanks mostly theraputic. The last month or so has been about equipment changes/upgrades/stability. The months before that were about treating/recovery from a disease outbreak which so far in my 3 years reefing has been the only thing that really sucked the wind from my sails.
 

Pennywise the Clown

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When I started my reef tank I saw a similar poll and couldn't believe that the majority of reefers seemed to be more interested in corals than the fish.
A year later and it is all about the corals for me. Especially now I have started with sps. SPS are incredibly addictive to me and I spend hours looking at them closely, hoping to see signs of growth.
I still love my fish though.
 

Jake_the_reefer

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For me it's a therapeutic device. Reefing and fish keeping has gotten me through some tough times. Whenever I am stressed I just come home look at and care for my tanks. My fiance can tell when I have something bothering me.. I start a new build or project haha. I deal with depression and I have a hard time with OCD, anger, and adhd but ever since I have started keeping aquariums most of my issues have faded away. I'm a much happier person thanks to the hobby.
 
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PanchoG

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For me it's a therapeutic device. Reefing and fish keeping has gotten me through some tough times. Whenever I am stressed I just come home look at and care for my tanks. My fiance can tell when I have something bothering me.. I start a new build or project haha. I deal with depression and I have a hard time with OCD, anger, and adhd but ever since I have started keeping aquariums most of my issues have faded away. I'm a much happier person thanks to the hobby.
I hear you, I have struggled with anxiety disorder on the past and working in the reef and see it makes me feel much better.
 

mta_morrow

Of course I have room for 1 more fish!
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Hello, I have been reading very different things people enjoy in our hobby, some people enjoy caring for fish or coral, others are about the equipment and have control over a mini ecosystem, some people like me feel calmed and eased by working on my reef and seeing its creatures.

I believe it can be interesting if we share our stories.

As I said I find working in my reef therapeutic, and also find calm on looking at it.
Great thread and poll!
 
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PanchoG

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Definitely the calming effect #1 for myself. #2 would be the challenges of reef keeping in general which covers all the items we do every day.( water parameters, fish / coral health, equipment and more equipment?, tank maintenance) #3 meeting great people of all walks of life that all share this love for this wonderful hobby.
R2R rocks for meeting people.
 

William Mumford

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I can spend hours working on my tank and not feel like I'm working at all. It is a true escape for me. I like just the quiet peaceful atmosphere the tank brings to the room. My absolute favorite is compliments on my tank. It feels good when someone says WoW that looks awsome.
 
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PanchoG

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I can spend hours working on my tank and not feel like I'm working at all. It is a true escape for me. I like just the quiet peaceful atmosphere the tank brings to the room. My absolute favorite is compliments on my tank. It feels good when someone says WoW that looks awsome.
How not to be proud of your tank when people complement it? Ar least I get the sensation I am doing something good enough to be enjoyed by others as well.
 

motortrendz

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Honestly it changed for me. All the years of having a reef it's been the challenge for me which I always enjoyed. The trying new stuff and watching things grow. 11 months ago my daughter was born and she has loved the fish since she was old enough to see it. now she wants to atand on my knee so she can hold onto the tank and watch the fish and point to them. The fish all school around her hand and know when shes there they all come out (mostly bc I feed them when shes there so they know). And if we put finding Nemo on tv shes always looking at the tv and bqck to the tank pointing. So she gets it.

So to me it evolved from my enjoyment to watching her amazement at the living ocean in her living room. I can only imagine what it would be like to see this through her eyes.
 

leedsrhinojohn

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Ive still got to put coral in my tank after being fish only for years but I enjoy the community spirit of reef keeping such as this and other forums, the way it brings people from all nationalities together, Its one of the few things in life that is truly the same universally, a reef tank is a reef tank whether its in the UK or Outer mongolia. I also use my tanks to educate people and friends who come round and start talking about my tanks in the perils of what is happening to our oceans and rivers.
As for the tanks I just enjoy being at one with nature.
 

Paul B

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I like the fact that it's just there. I can "play" with it if I like or ignore it for days.
If I have nothing to do like in the middle of the winter, especially if there is a lot of snow, not a Sissy snowfall, but a deluge of snow like they get in Siberia, I know that I can always find something to do on the tank. Weather it be feeding, cleaning glass, cleaning powerheads, cleaning algae scrubbers, cleaning the skimmer, cleaning the lights etc. (Wow, I sound like Mr Clean) Or I can go to an LFS with a pocket full of money and complain to them that they have nothing interesting. Then they tell me they have all these tangs, butterflies and angelfish, and I say "Exactly" You have nothing interesting. :cool:

I can put my diatom filter on just to annoy the bristle worms and flatworms or give my urchin some clams to eat because he doesn't know he is a vegetarian and he devours it.

I can take pictures of the fish or draw pictures of them. Then I can invite people over and they ask me how I get those colors to stick on the fish as most of them have only seen flounders on their plate. :rolleyes:

My favorite thing is to walk in front of my tank wearing a Speedo so I can watch my crabs try to cover their eyes with their claws. :p

My decorator crab has a hard time doing that as he is a little stiff from arthritis.
 
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PanchoG

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I like the fact that it's just there. I can "play" with it if I like or ignore it for days.
If I have nothing to do like in the middle of the winter, especially if there is a lot of snow, not a Sissy snowfall, but a deluge of snow like they get in Siberia, I know that I can always find something to do on the tank. Weather it be feeding, cleaning glass, cleaning powerheads, cleaning algae scrubbers, cleaning the skimmer, cleaning the lights etc. (Wow, I sound like Mr Clean) Or I can go to an LFS with a pocket full of money and complain to them that they have nothing interesting. Then they tell me they have all these tangs, butterflies and angelfish, and I say "Exactly" You have nothing interesting. :cool:

I can put my diatom filter on just to annoy the bristle worms and flatworms or give my urchin some clams to eat because he doesn't know he is a vegetarian and he devours it.

I can take pictures of the fish or draw pictures of them. Then I can invite people over and they ask me how I get those colors to stick on the fish as most of them have only seen flounders on their plate. :rolleyes:

My favorite thing is to walk in front of my tank wearing a Speedo so I can watch my crabs try to cover their eyes with their claws. :p

My decorator crab has a hard time doing that as he is a little stiff from arthritis.
Ah! equipment geek, it is always good to play, tune, work with the equipment. It keeps your mind busy and contributing to the benefit of your system. ;Smug
 
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