Can I make money?

[3D Reefin']

Guessing every company making money at one time was just a hobbyist thinking about making money. Best if there's a focus to satisfy a need either locally or regionally and able to provide said need by being able to meet the required logistics. Likely requires a background in finance and business as well as how to deal with suppliers and customers. In the ned, one might find it's best just to enjoy the hobby and let others worry about making money. Conclussion i arrived at trying this very concept in the early 90s and decided to just pursue my finance career and breed designer boas on the side as that was easier logistically to sell then fish or in my case protein skimmers. Having said that. Only one life to live and one never knows when it will be cut short so might as well do as one pleases them and may never find out unless one tries. Failure is acceptable yet very educational.

I had a front row seat to the breed snakes to make money game. A friend lost 80% of his collection to a nido viruus infected snake that came into his collection. At the time, no one really knew about it. He must have lost 70k-90k + over the course of 3 weeks. 7 years of raising the animals and all that money down the drain.

 

[MaxTremors]

Man what is up with some of the hate on here. I actually never mention getting rich, that is just something most people seem to keep reading. Please note I mention making money to keep the hobby going pretty clearly, and money on the side seems to lead people to the assumption that I am trying to get rich. Please think of making money on the side like a side job. Its just a little bit to maybe play with or buy a new piece of equipment, but nothing to live off of. If I was expecting to get rich I wouldn't consider it on the side, haha, that would just be my main source of income. Money on the side at that point would be my regular day job. I expect more from this group. I am new to it and new to the hobby. Some of you so far I have liked your comment because you actually added a piece of advice or comment to the forum that a new or existing reefer could take away from the site. But some of you just post ignorant comments, and I am not really sure the point.

I don’t think you’ve gotten any hate, like, not even close. I think a lot of people here are weary when people ask a question like this because the gold rush mentality is a huge problem in this hobby. Expecting to be able to make money just by having a tank is unrealistic until you’re at least a few years into the hobby. And to make more than enough money for salt and two part, your entire setup will need to be geared towards it (ie a frag tank versus a display tank, or a frag tank in addition to your display). Again, it’s possible to make a little bit of money, but to make enough where you could even consider it a side hustle, you’d need a large system (hundreds of gallons) dedicated just to growing out corals. After expenses you’d make maybe a few hundred dollars (assuming everything goes great, you have the time to do it, and you have people willing to buy from you).

So considering all of that, I think what most people are getting at (myself included) is that if you want to get into the hobby, do it because you’re interested in the hobby and if you’re able to make some money, cool, but I wouldn’t expect much more than enough to buy some salt or a couple frags. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s not hate, it’s just the reality of the hobby.

 

[Goaway]

You can make some cash back. I've sold chaeto algae to fund my salt purchases, or traded it for store credit.

Some people probably make a bit of profit. For example. I see lots of high end goniopora being chopped as soon as possible.
Acropora being nipped as soon soon as a nub pops up.

Coming into the hobby is expensive. But, play your cards right. You maybe able to propagate coral, fish, algae and sell it as a bonus.

 

[polyppal]

Greetings,

I am excited to get the hobby underway. But I am curious am I able to make money from the hobby? Enough to keep the hobby going or extra on the side? Can I make money at selling premade saltwater or RODI water? Can I make money selling coral and fish? Anything I can make money from I would like to know. Any experiences you have please share, good and/or bad.

*Edit* I realize I can sell everything, but what I am asking is am I really making money after expenses?

idk why people want to take your OP in another direction or assume your greedy or trying to get rich - seems like a valid question that many of us have pondered at one time or another in this hobby…

You might make a little change selling frags off your mother colonies once or twice a year, but no your not likely to recover anything close to what you put in… the guys that make money in this hobby are usually doing so by importing/growing/fragging on a large scale not feasible to most of us.

more than anything, trading frags locally is a great way to get new corals/gear without spending -even more- money

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Man what is up with some of the hate on here. I actually never mention getting rich, that is just something most people seem to keep reading. Please note I mention making money to keep the hobby going pretty clearly, and money on the side seems to lead people to the assumption that I am trying to get rich. Please think of making money on the side like a side job. Its just a little bit to maybe play with or buy a new piece of equipment, but nothing to live off of. If I was expecting to get rich I wouldn't consider it on the side, haha, that would just be my main source of income. Money on the side at that point would be my regular day job. I expect more from this group. I am new to it and new to the hobby. Some of you so far I have liked your comment because you actually added a piece of advice or comment to the forum that a new or existing reefer could take away from the site. But some of you just post ignorant comments, and I am not really sure the point.

Welcome to another Washington resident! I started out as a hobby that became a business and then back to the hobby. Many people either sell or design products that compliment the hobby or find ways to provide livestock to other hobbiest. I built acrylic aquariums, filters, light systems and even skimmers for years and sold them to aquarium stores. While it was a lot of fun my current business is much more profitable and allows me to enjoy the hobby again. Selling on the side can help you trade up to more or bigger aquariums. The only barrier is your knowledge of the hobby and the potential customers in your area. No matter what you decide on enjoy the hobby.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

The best money maker in the aquarium business is tank rentals and maintenance. It can carry the store if you go that way.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Greetings,

I am excited to get the hobby underway. But I am curious am I able to make money from the hobby? Enough to keep the hobby going or extra on the side? Can I make money at selling premade saltwater or RODI water? Can I make money selling coral and fish? Anything I can make money from I would like to know. Any experiences you have please share, good and/or bad.

*Edit* I realize I can sell everything, but what I am asking is am I really making money after expenses?

Short answer: not anytime soon, and never enough to come close to breaking even. After 7 years cultivating my current reef, I do occasionally sell or trade frags, but inevitably, I still spend more on coral than I raise in any given month or year.

 

[ninjamyst]

Yes. If you work hard at anything in life, you will make money. But you will also most likely end up likd the 99% of folks that spends thousands of dollars on the hobby and then leave in frustration due to set backs. Good luck.

 

[polyppal]

Welcome to another Washington resident! I started out as a hobby that became a business and then back to the hobby. Many people either sell or design products that compliment the hobby or find ways to provide livestock to other hobbiest. I built acrylic aquariums, filters, light systems and even skimmers for years and sold them to aquarium stores. While it was a lot of fun my current business is much more profitable and allows me to enjoy the hobby again. Selling on the side can help you trade up to more or bigger aquariums. The only barrier is your knowledge of the hobby and the potential customers in your area. No matter what you decide on enjoy the hobby.

Same for me, I found a way to make money building acrylic tanks - but it would be a profit margin at a fraction of my existing business so not a great business plan…

and as much as I’d probably enjoy it for 6mos., id probably come to hate it and the hobby shortly if it was a stressful way to make a living.

and forget about livestock - seems like your more likely to loose money than make it w fish.

this just seems to be a hobby where there’s not a lot of profit to be made

 

[polyppal]

I had a front row seat to the breed snakes to make money game. A friend lost 80% of his collection to a nido viruus infected snake that came into his collection. At the time, no one really knew about it. He must have lost 70k-90k + over the course of 3 weeks. 7 years of raising the animals and all that money down the drain.

If I wasn’t stupid I wouldn’t have neutered my cats… there’s some serious money in side hustling high end dogs/cats, but seems to be a crapshoot for things like fish/reptiles/etc

 

[Tamberav]

Greetings,

I am excited to get the hobby underway. But I am curious am I able to make money from the hobby? Enough to keep the hobby going or extra on the side? Can I make money at selling premade saltwater or RODI water? Can I make money selling coral and fish? Anything I can make money from I would like to know. Any experiences you have please share, good and/or bad.

*Edit* I realize I can sell everything, but what I am asking is am I really making money after expenses?

I mean people sell frags once their tank is fully stocked. I would not say it is enough to really make a lot of money. Break even at best but most probably spend more then they will ever see back.

Obv some have real business out of it but ya...

 

[Projects with Sam]

Just started making some money back from frags and im probably in over 10k at this point. And by making money I mean enough for the small things from the local shop maybe enough to cover my salt. You could probably do better starting up a massive phyto or pod culture and selling those. Less overhead and a lot less heartbreak figuring things out as you go. That is if your goal is to make money. If your doing this for the love of what your keeping you still won't be upset. Reef tanks are awesome

totally! I'm in a major metro area and its hard finding a dude in a van selling Phyto... everyone wants prices that include freight...

 

[Jeffcb]

NO

edit; but you can have fun trying.

 

[polyppal]

totally! I'm in a major metro area and its hard finding a dude in a van selling Phyto... everyone wants prices that include freight...

Like a phyto food truck!

 

[Projects with Sam]

lol. people actually eat phyto as a supplement.... ok Imma convert my basement to Phyto and micro-greens... Imma buy a Dodge RAM van and convert it into a food truck for Paleos...
can call it the 'Paleo-Pull-up' we wont serve the food on plate. when its ready youd come up to the counter and we'd just put the food in your hands... more environmentally friendly. The savvy folks will bring their reusable wax-paper wrappers with an ever-so-slight smug sneer.

Free roll of TP with every meal... will need it.

 

[littlebigreef]

If you play the long game and develop a good network of collaborators and become a subject matter expert in one area or the other… yes, you can make money to sustain the hobby. Perhaps more depending on how personable, resourceful and focused you are. However, the amount of time, discipline and resources to get to 10,000 hours (achieve mastery) is daunting and mistakes (while necessary to learn) can be costly. Specialists make more than generalists. Find that area of the hobby that really interests you and learn absolutely everything you can. THEN worry about figuring out how to monetize it.

The landscape has shifted dramatically in the last decade and competition (particularly aquacultured corals) is stiff.

 

[Who me?]

Short answer: not anytime soon, and never enough to come close to breaking even. After 7 years cultivating my current reef, I do occasionally sell or trade frags, but inevitably, I still spend more on coral than I raise in any given month or year.

This is the best answer imo. You can make some money back but it will take a few years to get that point and it will not be enough to support the hobby.
Those who make money do it as a business, generally have expert knowledge in at least a few areas and put in a lot of money up front.

If you treat it as a hobby you won't recoup any significant costs. If you want to make money on the side, you could always identify a need and come up with a solution. Ie.. media baskets, specialized flow or plumbing attachments, screens/lids, 3d printed stuff, etc...

 

[3429810]

this just seems to be a hobby where there’s not a lot of profit to be made

Lol I think all the companies selling us products would not agree with that statement. There is plenty of profit to be made in this hobby it’s just not from selling frags out of a tiny tank in your basement. FragBox is a good example of a hobbyist who scaled up his farm and started to import and he’s killing it now. It can be done but not by many.

 

[Who me?]

Lol I think all the companies selling us products would not agree with that statement. There is plenty of profit to be made in this hobby it’s just not from selling frags out of a tiny tank in your basement. FragBox is a good example of a hobbyist who scaled up his farm and started to import and he’s killing it now. It can be done but not by many.

Like most things, it's either a hobby or a business... Once you convert to a business, the amount of work involved begins to drain the enjoyment of the hobby.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

It won't be easy, but it is theoretically possible.