"Getting Out of the Hobby"

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Has there been an uptick in people leaving the hobby or is it just me?

I haven't been in for long enough to see any sort of major trend, but for those who has been in for a while,
do you notice it?
Is it common?
What is causing the issue? Inflation?

 

[Hungrypede]

Huge increase in new reefers in the past couple years during a thriving economy.

Economy has slowed. Corals prices have skyrocketed. Equipment prices have soared. Even energy prices can have a major affect depending on location.

There will always be new people entering and other people exiting.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Huge increase in new reefers in the past couple years during a thriving economy.

Economy has slowed. Corals prices have skyrocketed. Equipment prices have soared. Even energy prices can have a major affect depending on location.

There will always be new people entering and other people exiting.

Are the new folks the ones getting out? Majority of the folks I see are old timers.

 

[DanyL]

So there are a few kinds of "waves" I noticed in recent years:
- Illusion: People selling their old systems due to an upgrade, but from the side it seems like they leave.

- Gadgets and All-In-One supplements make it "seem" like an easy hobby for beginners, when in reality there is still a lot of required knowledge and care need to be learnt and taken.
So people with money will see a nice tank, LFS guy will show them all the gadgets, automation toys and "magic" supplements and they'll leave back home with an expensive system, no knowledge and in a month or two with an ugly tank that make them want out of this hobby.

- Post Corona
A lot of new reefers joined when they had a lot of free time at home during the Corona.
However, now that many are back in the office they've found that it's harder to keep up.

 

[NanoJHB]

Think a lot of reefers don't make the first year, they realize the hobby isn't for them and drop out.



That would probably be the biggest group of people leaving the hobby

 

[shakacuz]

Are the new folks the ones getting out? Majority of the folks I see are old timers.

i am seeing new folks leave out of frustration of things not going as planned.

regarding old timers, it just may be a change of pace in their life(moving, loss of interest, or the many reasons mentioned above)

 

[DanyL]

Are the new folks the ones getting out? Majority of the folks I see are old timers.

Interesting, I see the exact opposite locally.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Interesting, I see the exact opposite locally.

the # of new folks leaving hasn't been surprising to me considering "people leaving before the 1 year mark". Recently some folks that I know who have been in for a while are breaking down their tanks and that feels disheartening to me.

 

[bakbay]

Has there been an uptick in people leaving the hobby or is it just me?

I haven't been in for long enough to see any sort of major trend, but for those who has been in for a while,
do you notice it?
Is it common?
What is causing the issue? Inflation?

I'm curious on how you derived at the demographics / trend that people are leaving or joining?

 

[DanyL]

the # of new folks leaving hasn't been surprising to me considering "people leaving before the 1 year mark". Recently some folks that I know who have been in for a while are breaking down their tanks and that feels disheartening to me.

I like to think that for old school refeers it must be more of a coincidence than a trend.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I'm curious on how you derived at the demographics / trend that people are leaving or joining?

I can't ... I was hoping to get feedback.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Locally, we've had 3 long time reefers (10+ years) completely tear down and get rid of everything.

I think it's a sign of the times. I honestly think that we will see an abnormal uptick in folks leaving the hobby, mostly due to financial reasons.

 

[Willhersh34]

I don't want to create a social commentary here so take this for what it's worth..........

I feel like a lot of people started during/around COVID. People had more time on their hands and to a previous poster's point the economy was for the most part in good shape. I can include myself in that as I started the reef tank in my office when I was sent home to work full time. Granted, I was already an aquarist and have been for many years. COVID and working from home just gave me the push I needed to start a reef tank.

Now I can see where some of the COIVD folks that started weren't prepared for how much work and how much money reefing actually involves. Obviously I'm simplifying things but I think you saw an uptick in new reefers and are now seeing people get out because of cost and/or they don't have time to dedicate to the maintenance side of this hobby.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Locally, we've had 3 long time reefers (10+ years) completely tear down and get rid of everything.

I think it's a sign of the times. I honestly think that we will see an abnormal uptick in folks leaving the hobby, mostly due to financial reasons.

It has been said that what happens now is much different from 2008 financial crisis. I wonder what the difference is in terms of reef hobbyist.

 

[nhendrix]

In the USA prices on just about everything have made a big jump my electric bill went up $150 In the summer this pass year so justifying a hobby that is BIG$$$ depending on size of the system could be the difference between have the lights on

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I feel like I have seen more people join the hobby recently, but that's just my observation on it

 

[areefer01]

Is it common?

As with most hobbies, it can be common.

What is causing the issue? Inflation?

Expectations and patience. A reef is built over time.

 

[bakbay]

Perhaps a good indicator is R2R's membership stats (will leave that to the moderators) to show some trends but understand that many other reefers out there don't use R2R. For example, I have 4 other reefing friends (and relatives) who have reef tanks but not on here.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Perhaps a good indicator is R2R's membership stats (will leave that to the moderators) to show some trends but understand that many other reefers out there don't use R2R. For example, I have 4 other reefing friends (and relatives) who have reef tanks but not on here.

That would be an interesting stats if R2R is able to divulge. Though some don't use R2R but it can definitely show some sort of trend.
Trend of new users .... trend of accounts going dormant.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I think it's very regional. At least in NC it feels like a lot of people left/slowed down right around covid hitting, and there haven't been enough new people entering to replace those who exited.