Have you ever considered quitting the hobby? Why?

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Almost everyone has thought about quitting, and many people have left at one point. I broke down my last tank because of bubble algae. I've got the bubbles in my "new" setup as well, but I think I can squeeze a foxface in, so there's still hope. It's a tough hobby, and there's always ups and downs. It's best just to persevere in my opinion, there will always be an opportunity to fix any problems. Unless that problem is thousands of bubbles in a 20 gallon cube with the laziest emerald crabs in the world, in my case, that needed a redo.

 

[reef_1]

I just quit recently.

I am leaning more and more towards a minimalist lifestyle, cutting clutter and things which need attention/maintenance.

I dont miss it at all and finally I can go on holidays without worrying too much about the fish tanks.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I just quit recently.

I am leaning more and more towards a minimalist lifestyle, cutting clutter and things which need attention/maintenance.

I dont miss it at all and finally I can go on holidays without worrying too much about the fish tanks.

I haven’t quit, but I have felt this exact same way. I’ve felt like I may feel more at peace and less anxious and stressed if I didn’t have my fish tanks. They require so much attention and maintenance that it consumes me and definitely affects my ability to travel. I think a minimalist lifestyle could really lead to greater happiness and freedom. I just haven’t bit the bullet. I have so much invested in this hobby that it’s hard to quit. Did you sell everything? Or are you keeping things in case you come back? Cutting clutter would probably require selling I’d imagine.

 

[reef_1]

I haven’t quit, but I have felt this exact same way. I’ve felt like I may feel more at peace and less anxious and stressed if I didn’t have my fish tanks. They require so much attention and maintenance that it consumes me and definitely affects my ability to travel. I think a minimalist lifestyle could really lead to greater happiness and freedom. I just haven’t bit the bullet. I have so much invested in this hobby that it’s hard to quit. Did you sell everything? Or are you keeping things in case you come back? Cutting clutter would probably require selling I’d imagine.

I was keep downsizing for a long time, so I only had 2 nano tanks left - all automated with cameras, wifi feeders, wifi sockets. Still a long holiday comes up with the kids and I didnt want to spend it worrying whats going on with the tanks at home.

One day I woke up, called up the LFS if they take in my livestock after sorting that I only needed 1 hour to drain and clean the tanks, then sold everything on ebay. I dont want to restart it ever, I will never take any living thing which needs regular feeding etc.

I kept the lights only cause they have a separate strong white spectrum and I am gonna use them to start another hobby which is again lurking in my mind for years, growing expensive trees, they could come handy to be able to start trees any time of the year.

I adjusted my hobbies to my minimalist life.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I was keep downsizing for a long time, so I only had 2 nano tanks left - all automated with cameras, wifi feeders, wifi sockets. Still a long holiday comes up with the kids and I didnt want to spend it worrying whats going on with the tanks at home.

One day I woke up, called up the LFS if they take in my livestock after sorting that I only needed 1 hour to drain and clean the tanks, then sold everything on ebay. I dont want to restart it ever, I will never take any living thing which needs regular feeding etc.

I kept the lights only cause they have a separate strong white spectrum and I am gonna use them to start another hobby which is again lurking in my mind for years, growing expensive trees, they could come handy to be able to start trees any time of the year.

I adjusted my hobbies to my minimalist life.

Respect.

 

[19Mateo83]

I did quit, here I am 12 years later

 

[twentyleagues]

I did quit, here I am 12 years later

I think once its in your blood it hard to truly stay away forever. Maybe a very bad life changing event, or a really bad experience in the hobby.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

I "quit" for 8 years. Because I moved to Hawaii to study marine biology and aquaculture. I got some formal education in both, met a girl, volunteered as an educator at the Waikiki aquarium and spent my spare time snorkeling, fishing, and enjoying the beach and reefs. My now wife and I got forced out due to ever increasing COL and moved to south carolina. Now that I'm back on the mainland my wife bought me a tank for my bday and I'm back.

 

[blecki]

Every time I think about quitting I just have to convince myself that the sunk cost fallacy is actually pretty sound and sensible reasoning. Why if I quit now all that money I spent would be wasted! And then I keep going.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

Every time I think about quitting I just have to convince myself that the sunk cost fallacy is actually pretty sound and sensible reasoning. Why if I quit now all that money I spent would be wasted! And then I keep going.

In my opinion, it’s a terrible reason to keep doing something, though. You should do things because they make your life better, happier, fuller, not because you’d lose money if you quit. Money is replaceable. Time and happiness isn’t. That’s my two cents and what I’m grappling with. That would be like saying, I hate my job, but I’ve invested so much time and effort into it, so I have to stay or I’ll lose all that time and effort. It’s not worth your happiness to continue doing something you hate. There’s always other jobs and hobbies, and you can always make more money, but time is finite. And why waste it doing something that no longer serves you. Is it really worth sacrificing happiness for money?

 

[blecki]

Who said it didn't make me happy?

 

[FDchase]

I shut down my old tank maybe 2012, 2013? I was newly married and had no money. My tank was basically in keep everything alive mode. Then one day I left for work and when the wife left she shut off the ac to save energy. Came home to a tank that was about 90F. That’s the moment I gave up. Then about 10 years later we finally bought a house and when our son was getting ready to come into the world we went to petco and saw some tanks 50% off. Now I have I tank I can actually afford to do right and my 7 month old son is absolutely in love with his clown fish. Would probably take a 100% total crash for me to give up again, just like my last tank.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

Who said it didn't make me happy?

Nobody said it doesn’t make you happy. I’m simply saying that if it doesn’t make someone happy, it isn’t worth doing. In my previous response, I used the word “you”, not necessarily in reference to you specifically, but in reference to people in general.

I’m just saying that I don’t think losing money should be the primary motivation to stay in a hobby. No judgement. Just my two cents. All’s good.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Lulz..we all have...whether it be new tank syndrome, unctrollable algae, algea blooms, fish dying, losing coral etc....but like my wife said...

"I'll be dammed if we spent $4k on this tank and you are gonna quit...I don't f__king think so...you are gonna ride this out till the bitter end"

Fortunately, we rode it out, and tank is doing great 1.5 years later!

 

[blecki]

I’m just saying that I don’t think losing money should be the primary motivation to stay in a hobby.

It's motivation to quit.

 

[Sump Crab]

I’ve been in it since the 2000’s and have never once considered quitting

 

[j.falk]

The first time I quit the hobby was when my 75 gallon freshwater tank crashed. The tank had been set up for over 4 years and it was awesome! I had angelfish bigger than the palm of my hands, live plants, lots of schooling tetras, expensive plecos, etc... I did my usual weekly water change and within an hour everything in the tank was dead. I used the exact same water source that I had been using for 4 years of water changes and the only thing I could think of was the city water company must have added something to the water that week. I was so upset that I tore the tank down the same day and got rid of it. I wanted nothing to do with aquariums anymore.

5 years later I set up a 20 gallon cube saltwater aquarium. 2 days after I set it up, the filter sprung a leak on the second story of the house...the wife was upset...so I tore it down and sold it to a friend.

After that I went years without having a tank...then one day I wanted one again, so I bought a 34 gallon aquarium on a whim. It lasted two months and dinos took over and I didn't know what to do...so it got taken down and sold off.

Then I went three years without a tank and the itch for a tank hit me again...so I set up a 20 gallon high nano saltwater tank. I ran it for over a year and then decided to upgrade to a 30 long. A week into the 30 long and all of my inverts died (which really upset me), so I tore that tank down and sold both the 20 and 30.

Then I went three more years without a tank and fish fever hit me again so I bought my current tank...which (after spending $2,000.00+ on) I have come to realize is just too small. I'm currently thinking about upgrading again to my dream tank which is a 53 breeder from Marineland. It's not too big and not too small. But my current house has no good place to put it. Ideally I would like it in my office (on the second story) but then I would have to lug buckets up two flights of stairs every time I need to do a water change. I've done that before and it really sucks. Especially when you spill water on carpeted stairs.

So I don't know what to do.

We've planned for years on moving to a new house in a different state once our son goes to college and he's leaving to go this fall. But now the wife wants to stay at our current house until he's done with college (5 more years)...so I don't know what to do. Without a good place to put the tank, I'm at a standstill.

 

[doubleshot00]

Yes probably 5-6x. But got talked off the edge by you guys.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/yup-didn’t-make-it-a-year.945558/

 

[WrasseyReefer]

It's motivation to quit.

What I meant to say: I’m just saying that I don’t think losing money if you quit should be the primary motivation to stay in a hobby.

 

[William Toohill]

Wow. That’s crazy. So you did quit and came back?

No, taking a break right now.