Has your hobby become a bad habit?

BRS
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YES I was suppose to pay tuition yesterday but came up very short after my recent coral purchase.
 
WWC
I think there are pluses and minuses with my addiction/hobby. The plus side is I am much more active than I was before. The downside is it has sort of taken over my life and some things are suffering due to it. I try and tell myself about the money that the expenses will slow down once I am fully stocked fish wise and stuff.
 
Connie said:
I don't go without, however; when I think about all the money invested into my reef, I could have done a lot with it, like... remodel the master bathroom or the kitchen....lol I do spend too much on it, but I just can't help it. It's a vicious circle too because after I buy a bunch of stuff for the tank, I contemplate getting out of the hobby because it's too much work and no one in the family gives a rat's patooty about it but me...then the next thing ya know, I'm buying something else...
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You took the words right out of my mouth, you sure your not me lol
 
Tidal Gardens
If I don't have the $ for new fish or salt or whatever I just don't get it !

The most important thing with this hobby is don't use credit cards
 
It's all about budgeting, spending wisely, and having patience. We have one income currently, with 3 kids and a dog, those commitments come first. My hobbies a close second. We don't spend what we can't afford.
 
Since May of last year = 28g, added 20L, added 90g, added 75g, sold 75g, added 125g, took down 20L, sold 125g, added 75g, added 20L, took down 28g, added 60Cube, added 28g. Finally down to 90g, 60cube, and 28Nano frag. They are stocked, lit, skimmed, flowed, and filtered the way I want them. No more tanks till we get the new house, then it's twin 225s. (She like non-reef-safe critters too much.) it was a financial whirlwind that I'm still trying to recover from.

But for now, we're in "maintenance mode." Salt, food, media, and test reagents are our only expenditures now. Maybe a couple fish or corals along the way, but nothing that would show up as a blip on the radar.

Mac
 
I think we have all sacrificed something for this addiction:p Some are just to proud to admit it :eek:
 
AS
How much do you compromise just to keep your aquarium going? I have considered selling it all but then I see the return on investment and realize it makes me happy so the return on that is enough to keep it. However I am selling other stuff like my sword collection and my boat just to keep the cash flow in the positive.

Are you reefing above & beyond your means? Reefing no, everything else I'd say possibly...

Is that upgrade way more then you can afford but you just can't stop yourself? I don't spend it if I don't have it. I upgraded to the 125G I have now with all used equipment so I saved a small fortune. I will not do the next upgrade until I can own my own house and be able to know for sure I can handle the expenses.

Utilities shut off during your new upgrade? Absolutely not... I have a wife, two kids, and another kid cooking so there is no way I would let them suffer with no utilities just to keep the tank. However if the power does go out, I only have a generator large enough to power the tank at minimum life support so the rest of the house will be without utilities until they are restored.

Do you worry where your next bucket of salt will come from? Sometimes, but not because of the tank expenses itself. I make enough on frag sales locally to cover most of the tank costs and then some. I avoid water changes as much as possible and do them about once every month or maybe twice a month if I am running a QT tank.

I don't see the tank as a bad habit at all. In my situation it is something the kids can learn from. My 9 year old wants a tank and my 3 year old can name over half of the fish in the tank. She also knows coral is alive and points to the polyps and says "little coral". She knows the difference between a shrimp and crab. The tank is also something that can calm her down in times when she is having a fit. There are more benefits than negatives to owning a tank for me.
 
Tidal Gardens
I'm sure that my saltwater expenses are less than a lot of others, but I can directly attribute 120.00 a month in water and electric to may tanks. We have been on cruise control for the last 2 1/2 years with actually very little money going to the tanks. I'd guess 100. a month going to food, salt, additives, occasional new frag or heater replacement.
 
tyler1503 said:
Ill answer :)
Yes, I do go without water changes far too often. I'm constantly putting them off so I can eat haha.
And yes, when that quarterly power bill comes in, I just know I'll have to pick up extra shifts at work!
And yes, I do pick up extra shifts just so I can pay for that new fish I've been eyeing!
And yes, this upgrade I'm planning is out of the budget, but I'll just have to work my butt off to pay for it.
And no, I wouldn't say it's become a bad habit. Nothing this fun or innocent could be bad!
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See! this doesn't sound like a bad habit to me at all. I would call it dedication,love and passion for our tanks because everyone is guilty of this at one point or another.
 
The more you make the more you spend. That's why some years the tank looks great and other years it just remains the same. I'm going through one of these phases right now....changing a lot and have added some extremely high end corals over the last couple of years. I've got over 40 different chalice now that cost me an arm and a leg!
 
For me, more than the money is the time I spend with it. With the maintenance, trips to LFS, browsing reef2reef or any online information repositories, and the hours of just looking at it, little time is left. Many where the times that my mind was in my aquarium while speaking with someone. I do get some complains about it...
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
NanaReefer said:
Has your hobby become a bad habit?
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Yes. And unfortunately, I am also a musician who chooses to only purchase the finest of guitars. My guitar/music hobby is pretty much back burner right now to my tank. And yes, I'm jonesin for a bigger tank. And bigger corals, and better corals, and more colorful corals, and more zoas, and more critters, and, and, and.

Hi, I'm Matt and I have a reef tank problem.

Meers said:
For me, more than the money is the time I spend with it. With the maintenance, trips to LFS, browsing reef2reef or any online information repositories, and the hours of just looking at it, little time is left. Many where the times that my mind was in my aquarium while speaking with someone. I do get some complains about it...
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Yes, yes, yes. I spend at least 2 hours minimum every day either with the tank or online or with books trying to take that next step.
 
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This hobby can quickly snowball into a very bad habit unless you know when to stop. Before I had my son I will be honest I used to buy corals or equipment with the thought of not going out to lunch or dinner for a while and stuff like that but since him I have become what I would say a reefer on a budget. The majority of corals that are in my tank have been acquired through trades as opposed to me paying my hard earned cash. I run the minimum amount of equipment I can to keep my tank healthy and it's more for me to enjoy with my son and wife instead of impressing my other reefing buddies. I even sold my 120 gallon tank that I was in the process of putting together and got a 30 gallon tank. I have friends in the hobby who over extend themselves for a one polyp frag of zoas or an inch frag of acro and I have tp just laugh and shake my head. This hobby is a lot more enjoyable when you're not stressing about the amount of money you spend and enjoying the fact that you have a reef in your living room.
 
BRS

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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