Why are people so lazy?

[lion king]

Or are they just sooo busy with life they don't really have time for a reef tank I see so many post about automating this that and the other. People hate doing water changes. Hate cleaning the glass. Hate changing socks. The skimmer stinks and is a pita to clean etc.
Maybe I'm weird because those are things I enjoy. It helps be observe things and look for potential problems or just enjoy checking the life forms out, even the nasty bristle worms that I love
To me a hobby is something to occupy some of my time and clear my head. I focus on the hobby and all other thoughts are gone for a short time. Isn't that what hobbies are supposed to be for or am I looking at this the wrong way? I guess it could be because I'm older and more people on here are younger and look at things differently or are more busy than I have ever been even when I was raising 3 girls and working 11 hour days. Then I really enjoyed that time working on the tank.

Let's take it even further, I know people that pay other people to do their hobby for them. They are so lazy and out of touch they don't even understand the value of actually having a hobby. I find myself dismissing people that try and relate to me when they have hired a maintenance company to care for their tanks. That is not a hobby, these peolpe are not hobbyist, they are collectors.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I think dosing pumps and ATO are the absolute best way to achieve chemical stability. The frequent small additions that would not be possible if you sleep and work to keep those values from swaying seems to have made a huge impact on my coral growth.

Prior to dosing pumps I was having to stay up extra to not dose too much and space out properly.

 

[HardyG]

Different strokes for different folks I would say.

Some people want to spend time doing the upkeep such as cleaning skimmers, washing filter socks, and siphoning their sump. Others enjoy spending their down time watching/observing the life in there.

I am a tinkerer myself, but many people try to automate as much as possible just to not be tied down to tasks that need to be done at certain times or every day such as ATO, dosing, filter socks, etc. Whatever it takes to keep someone in the hobby is the right way!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its part of technology and ability to go on vacation or not be home and have a device tend to the tank in your absence. Manufacturing, food industry and even auto plants are now robotized with various controller and similar devices for effective use of time

 

[Fishy888]

I love interacting with my system and I love the tinkering aspect of things. I built the stand for my 90 gallon cube. I modified an old MH luminaire whose reflector is amazing over the cube and fit it into a canopy I built for it.

I intend to automate water changes to a point. I have back issues and neuropathy so I have to be careful of what I’m doing. I’m going to add an ATO for my system because it’ll keep the water chemistry much more stable than it is the way I’ve been doing it.

At the same time I want to interact with my system so I’m not going to add an auqtomatic feeder or anything. There are some valid reasons for automating things. At the same time there are people who just want all the benefits of having a thriving reef but don’t want to do the work to have one.

 

[exnisstech]

People also want self driving cars for some reason.

I have one and lane departure warning / intervention, steering assist and start / stop are the first things I turn off. I think the auto pilot on cars is more about safety than convenience really. People are too distracted to pay attention so the automation helps with that, especially the collision avoidance features. Do I agree? No I think they should just make our devices so they don't function when in motion faster than you would be jogging or riding a bike. But I just fix em not design them.

. There are times when lifting 5 gallons of water 5' off the floor makes me feel like my backs going to break.

Oh I'm there now. 4 gallons instead of 5 and that's 2 gallons in each bucket not 4 gallons in one

 

[vlangel]

Different strokes for different folks I would say.

Some people want to spend time doing the upkeep such as cleaning skimmers, washing filter socks, and siphoning their sump. Others enjoy spending their down time watching/observing the life in there.

I am a tinkerer myself, but many people try to automate as much as possible just to not be tied down to tasks that need to be done at certain times or every day such as ATO, dosing, filter socks, etc. Whatever it takes to keep someone in the hobby is the right way!

I like this perspective. We all have different strengths and weakness regarding this hobby. Different aspects of the hobby appeal to us or burden us.

I like to run my tank system with very little automation. 1. I am not very techy and very much old school. 2. I don't trust things to not break so the less moving parts, the less there is to break. However, there are folks who love to use the tech that is available and that is fun for them. I think that is wonderful for them and who is to say one way is more valid than another way if the animals are being well cared for? I say each aquarists should enjoy operating their tanks the way that suits them.

 

[Propane]

supplement dosers are by far the best thing in the hobby! I could never manually dose the way I need to like a doser, I love it!! but I'm definitely guilty of being lazy with some things in the hobby but it's a give and take relationship, but I definitely agree it's a great way to pass the time and distract the mind!

I will be getting a doser soon because that automaton is more consistent. I also think it’s better for the corals to have a steady stream of something rather than a bunch of something that depletes until the next dose.

 

[exnisstech]

Let's take it even further, I know people that pay other people to do their hobby for them. They are so lazy and out of touch they don't even understand the value of actually having a hobby. I find myself dismissing people that try and relate to me when they have hired a maintenance company to care for their tanks. That is not a hobby, these peolpe are not hobbyist, they are collectors.

Amen. This is one thing I never understood. A business sure I get that but not to come into my home to service my aquariums.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Let's take it even further, I know people that pay other people to do their hobby for them. They are so lazy and out of touch they don't even understand the value of actually having a hobby. I find myself dismissing people that try and relate to me when they have hired a maintenance company to care for their tanks. That is not a hobby, these peolpe are not hobbyist, they are collectors.

That's the one I don't understand.

 

[Goaway]

Oh I'm there now. 4 gallons instead of 5 and that's 2 gallons in each bucket not 4 gallons in one

You know what... that's a good idea. Seriously not joking.

I love this hobby, but the moment i need things to be automated, I'm really going to feel crippled. I'll probably throw in the towel. I don't want too though.

The only thing automated for me are lights. I'd never be able to keep a good schedule manually.

I enjoy cleaning the glass, changing filter socks.

I hate cleaning the protein skimmer, it sticks so bad... if it wasn't for the smell, i wouldn't care.

 

[workhz]

I like to sit by my tank flipping the heater switch on and off

 

[zheka757]

Let's take it even further, I know people that pay other people to do their hobby for them.

if you pay someone to do your hobby, it is no longer a hobby!

 

[Goaway]

I like to sit by my tank flipping the heater switch on and off

I kind of had to do this the past couple of days for my hospital tank. It was very painful.

 

[kevgib67]

My tank is run very similar to how I ran my tank that I started in the mid nineties. It ran for 16 years. Every Sunday is a water change and deep clean and I always look forward to it. Hands on gives me enjoyment. Top offs are still manual but if I had a much larger tank and at my age, I would probably be adding a ATO.

 

[JC1977]

Definitely no right or wrong on this subject. In fact it’s amazing to me how much opinions vary in this hobby regardless of the subject. Quarantine or no quarantine dry rock or live rock dc pump or ac pump automated water changes or manual etc. I’m pretty sure we can take ten different aquarists right now who run their tank differently from the others but all have thriving systems. Having said all that I will agree with the point it’s not really a hobby if somebody else is putting in all the work to make your tank look amazing lol.

 

[cilyjr]

Yup, it's amazing we made a robot that can create art and write novels for us so we can have more time to do the laundry, wash dishes, and dust...
Oops...

 

[FoolishWizard]

Automating the mundane tasks makes the hobby THAT much more enjoyable to me... Not laziness per say but def a healthy side of "work smarter not harder".

 

[TinyReefObsession]

I guess it would depend on the system. My 500 gallon peninsula with 20' of acrylic that needs to be cleaned every 3 days does get old after awhile.

I can imagine! i have trouble reaching the bottom/ middle of my biocube 14! Lol I’m already wondering how I will be able to reach in & clean my next tank- i might need a wetsuit! Lol

 

[Nate Chalk]

I probably spend just as much time tinkering with the automation stuff. Hehe