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[GerberGirth]

Hey,

New to the page but so glad I found it. Let me start by saying that I do not have a setup currently. I hope to get into the hobby in the next 6 to 12 months and I'm currently in this research stage of figuring out what's going to work best for me. I joined one of the local Facebook pages and it kind of made me thibk twice.All I see on there are people selling their setup saying that they're getting out of the hobby after 3 to 5 years. For some of you that have been doing this for that amount of time or longer what are the things that would have made you quit and wish you didn't have started or what are the things that have kept you going and wish you knew when you started?

I just kept thinking about looking at the reef tanks, coral and fish and thinking I'd love to do that but then see those posts and think am I really going to spend this money only to leave in a few years.

Any advice for the beginner is much appreciated.

 

[Gtinnel]

I almost threw in the towel on my current tank when after a little over a year all of my fish went from seemingly healthy to dead in 2 hours. Had 125 gallons of water not been a huge mess I would thrown a hammer through the glass. I basically left the tank alone for months just keeping up with my salinity, and when I finally started to stock it back it's better looking now than it was before.

Patience is very important in this hobby. This hobby can be frustrating, especially for people who think they're going to have a beautiful tank like they see online within a short amount of time. A tank can also take a lot of time and effort to keep up with. You seem to be doing a good job of not starting a tank on a whim.

Welcome to R2R.

 

[Goaway]

For some of you that have been doing this for that amount of time or longer what are the things that would have made you quit and wish you didn't have started or what are the things that have kept you going and wish you knew when you started?

I feel like I could type out 5k words here. I'll spare the skip.
what I wish I knew before I started.
1. Calibration fluid for refractometer. Ro/DI should not be your go to calibration fluid. make sure the fluid is meant for your target levels of salinity.
2. Buy test kits before you buy corals.
3. Invest in a par meter.

I did not quit willingly. It was always something that got involved leaving me with slim choices. Like, moving. Some people will fight to make the move. I just didn't have the money to do it.

 

[69reefman]

Hello and welcome

 

[Gedxin]

Welcome to R2R! Researching first is absolutely the best approach to this hobby. Going in to the everything with an idea of the cost and maintenance requirements will set you up for success in the future. Personally I'm just a little over a month in to my tank and it's an absolute addiction in my daily life. I think about it and watch the little ecosystem so much.

I know everyone recommends going big if you can...but I'd say go with something that you think is maintainable for you in the long run. Bigger is not always better in a hobby that has escalating maintenance requirements the bigger it gets.

 

[Gtinnel]

I did not quit willingly. It was always something that got involved leaving me with slim choices. Like, moving.

Great point.

I was in the hobby for 10 years or so before quitting and eventually coming back. The thing that did make me get out of the hobby was most of my fish dying when I was moving. That plus having new born twins didn't help with the time needed to maintain the tanks.

If you forsee having to move anytime in the future then I would personally hold off on setting up a tank.

 

[GerberGirth]

Great point.

I was in the hobby for 10 years or so before quitting and eventually coming back. The thing that did make me get out of the hobby was most of my fish dying when I was moving. That plus having new born twins didn't help with the time needed to maintain the tanks.

If you forsee having to move anytime in the future then I would personally hold off on setting up a tank.

I'm in my forever home so no worries there.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Welcome to R2R! Researching first is absolutely the best approach to this hobby. Going in to the everything with an idea of the cost and maintenance requirements will set you up for success in the future. Personally I'm just a little over a month in to my tank and it's an absolute addiction in my daily life. I think about it and watch the little ecosystem so much.

I know everyone recommends going big if you can...but I'd say go with something that you think is maintainable for you in the long run. Bigger is not always better in a hobby that has escalating maintenance requirements the bigger it gets.

Excellent advice. I went overboard and did five builds over the past nine months, and my most successful -- and fun -- tanks have been my Evo 13.5s. They're cheap and have everything that you need, and will even support a reef with the stock equipment. Water changes are a breeze; moisture loss is minimal; the tank's footprint is small enough that you can easily visualize the aquascape that you really want, and it's cheap enough to do this with live rock if you want. You can have two to three small fish in there, as well. Hint: the small fish are often the most fun to watch.