How Has Reefkeeping Changed Your Lifestyle?

[7of9]

I’m curious how keeping a reef tank has changed your habits, routine, or lifestyle, besides just maybe having less money to spend?

Do you take shorter vacations? Plan trips around visiting aquariums or LFS’s? Have you had to change some things in your home? Have you developed other new interests that you were exposed to because of your tank? That sort of thing.

 

[drolmaeye]

New to reefing, so having to spend a little more time with maintenance and testing than I expected (and I also think that will taper off a bit as I get more comfortable with everything). As a result, my yard looks like . . . crap. Lawn gets mowed, but weeding, maintenance, and care have temporarily dipped. Tank is looking pretty good, though.

Also, got me interesting in the maker hobby as I wanted to get a little temperature/salinity/water level module that uses Arduino and sends info to my HYDROS 0-10V input.

Some other projects I never knew I would need to do (mixing station, custom control board, etc.).

 

[exnisstech]

I’m curious how keeping a reef tank has changed your habits, routine, or lifestyle, besides just maybe having less money to spend?

Do you take shorter vacations? Plan trips around visiting aquariums or LFS’s? Have you had to change some things in your home? Have you developed other new interests that you were exposed to because of your tank? That sort of thing.

I now take no vacations as I have no automation except ATO and heat control. That is a positive for me as I don't like traveling.

Every month or so my Gal and I will spend part of a day just visiting the LFS around here. She has become interested because of this. I've noticed the first thig she does when she gets home now is go to the tanks and check things out. Many times she will notice something I missed. Another positive.

Changes at home? If buying wall space from my Gal so she moved her collection of knick knacks which gave me room to add a 180g in the living room then yes we've made changes. Another win and don't ask how much I paid her

I spend more time in the basement since the sump on my largest system is down there. More me time, less TV time and my dogs get to wrestle down there while I'm doing maintenance or just enjoying a few drinks while I watch some frags grow. positive for me, my Gal meh.

I get a snide comment once in a while about the amount of time spent on the tanks but when I remind her of the alternative things I could be doing vs staying home doing fishy stuff (as we refer to it) that's usually the end of it.

Mostly positives here. The negatives are just things that happen in the hobby. Flooded floors, fish deaths etc.

 

[7of9]

I now take no vacations as I have no automation except ATO and heat control. That is a positive for me as I don't like traveling.

Every month or so my Gal and I will spend part of a day just visiting the LFS around here. She has become interested because of this. I've noticed the first thig she does when she gets home now is go to the tanks and check things out. Many times she will notice something I missed. Another positive.

Changes at home? If buying wall space from my Gal so she moved her collection of knick knacks which gave me room to add a 180g in the living room then yes we've made changes. Another win and don't ask how much I paid her

I spend more time in the basement since the sump on my largest system is down there. More me time, less TV time and my dogs get to wrestle down there while I'm doing maintenance or just enjoying a few drinks while I watch some frags grow. positive for me, my Gal meh.

I get a snide comment once in a while about the amount of time spent on the tanks but when I remind her of the alternative things I could be doing vs staying home doing fishy stuff (as we refer to it) that's usually the end of it.

Mostly positives here. The negatives are just things that happen in the hobby. Flooded floors, fish deaths etc.

My husband and I are currently separated (long story, we're still working on it). I've taken him to a few LFS's and he tries to understand. I also try to be supportive of his hobby, which is tabletop rpg's (like DnD, but not Dungeons and Dragons). I think it's important to at least be supportive of your spouse's interests even if you don't quite understand and also to try to keep in mind prioritizing each other.

I like going for short trips, like long weekend kind of trips, so I'm going to be looking at ways to make that easier on my tank.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

Reefing has made me a lot more sociable. I used to be a complete hermit and not want to talk to anyone. When I got back into reefing, there were no local groups by me (online or otherwise). So I started my own. The groups grew bigger and bigger, and I met a lot of Reefers. This made me very sociable because we all had something in common that we enjoyed.

I also quit drinking a couple years ago, and wouldn't have been able to do that "cold turkey" without reefing. Now instead of living for myself, I look to help others, so they can discover how reefing can make their lives more fulfilling. Oh yeah, I also don't take long vacations.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’ve had a reef tank for far too long I can’t imagine how life would be without .
Even as simple as the sound of pumps running . Water trickling through the sump.

The lights coming on and going off is almost like my internal clock reminding me of what time of day it is .

I have never travelled anywhere outside of going to and from work . And even the odd weekend away on a very rare occasion .
I don’t have any controllers order than ato which when filled I have roughly 3 days before it’s empty .
Heaters only come on at night with t5 lighting

 

[7of9]

I’ve had a reef tank for far too long I can’t imagine how life would be without .
Even as simple as the sound of pumps running . Water trickling through the sump.

The lights coming on and going off is almost like my internal clock reminding me of what time of day it is .

I have never travelled anywhere outside of going to and from work . And even the odd weekend away on a very rare occasion .
I don’t have any controllers order than ato which when filled I have roughly 3 days before it’s empty .
Heaters only come on at night with t5 lighting

That's really cool how in tune you are with your aquarium's schedule.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Makes me plan ahead more when I have a vacation or trip coming up haha

 

[00W]

I really don't like traveling anywhere.
I don't have any automation for my tank so I can't go away for long anyways.
I work 60-70 hours a week so now with 2 salt tanks and 2 fresh tanks running I actually take all Monday to myself and the fish where it used to be cleaning the house and yard work all day.
I think it's adding years to my life to be honest and I feel more rested when I go back to work again on Wednesday.
Now, my garage on the other hand....
Yikes!

 

[00W]

I also actually feel like I know some people on here and that's nice because I work so much I don't have any friends anyways so thanks to all of you for that.

 

[shakacuz]

ideally i have someone to come and look over the tank. either my GF's mom, or my little sister watch over the tanks while we're gone. luckily it hasn't been a long vacation (typically 4-5 days). the tank is literally on autopilot right now and requires little to no maintenance.. besides ALK, no3/po4 dosing, making sure the ATO res has water, and cleaning the glass.

 

[zoomonster]

Not a whole lot. I squeeze time here and there for aquarium stuff and not much impact except of course for spending money lol. Usually, trips are pretty short and no issue. Kinda sweating the close to 2 weeks I'll be gone next year for an Alaskan cruise. GF's sister is coming to stay and tend to the animals but aquarium I worry about even if mostly automated.

 

[7of9]

Not a whole lot. I squeeze time here and there for aquarium stuff and not much impact except of course for spending money lol. Usually, trips are pretty short and no issue. Kinda sweating the close to 2 weeks I'll be gone next year for an Alaskan cruise. GF's sister is coming to stay and tend to the animals but aquarium I worry about even if mostly automated.

I lived in Alaska about 6 years. I think you’ll love the cruise!

I read SO many horror stories of things happening When someone goes on vacation and I don’t think anyone in my family would be as attentive as I am!

 

[fish farmer]

I've had a reef/fowlr for about 23 years, never took a break. Two different apartments and my current house. I've almost always had some sort of support system for week long vacations, short weekends are easily automated.

Being a homeowner that does a lot of the maintenance, lawns, etc., I tend to not travel as much and have time to fit in tank stuff, except in the summer when the outdoor projects call.

I haven't hung out with a local reefer in many years and rarely do the LFS reef crawl since my stores have dwindled.

I don't do other hobbies like fishing and beer brewing as much like I did early on.

 

[Daenion]

Less disposable income.

 

[Propane]

My Overwatch rank has definitely suffered lol.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Reefing has made me a lot more sociable. I used to be a complete hermit and not want to talk to anyone. When I got back into reefing, there were no local groups by me (online or otherwise). So I started my own. The groups grew bigger and bigger, and I met a lot of Reefers. This made me very sociable because we all had something in common that we enjoyed.

I also quit drinking a couple years ago, and wouldn't have been able to do that "cold turkey" without reefing. Now instead of living for myself, I look to help others, so they can discover how reefing can make their lives more fulfilling. Oh yeah, I also don't take long vacations.

It's done the opposite to me. I'm an extremely social person. But my reef has helped my find comfort in solitude. I work nights so it's important that I am able to entertainy brain in a healthy manner while the world sleeps.

It has also taught me a lot about patience, where I formerly had non. I've also learned a lot about letting nature run it's own course versus human intervention. Nature does it better and always will. If I don't meddle in it, things go away.

Quoting @Lavey29, "does nature run peroxide?"

Meh, it makes a little of it's own. But it certainly doesn't hit Walmart for a few drums of it to kill algea and cyano. That quote could be used in any way you like "does nature dose vibrant?" And it can go the other way, "does nature dose nitrates?" Yes absolutely it does.

 

[mangolove]

I've been in the hobby on and off over the past 7 years. I own parrots, a cat, allot of plants and things that require maintenance and I never go on vacation nor do i feel the need to. Everytime I look at my aquarium I cannot believe these things are real. It is so incredibly stunning and that makes it worth all the effort.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The day it changes my lifestyle- tank is gone. Its part of me and well known by others and friends as part of me. I just returned today from a triple vacation and the tank was never considered to be part of or an impact to do this vacation.
After this many years, I know what to expect in terms of costs, essentials and a plan should something fail.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I have kept fresh water for 30 years and that became kind of boring. I talked my wife into a fish only salt water tank. That lasted about a month, then came the coral. What Salt Water has done for me is made fresh water new to me again as I went from standard aquariums, to more natural aquascape in those tanks giving me a whole new appreciation for them. It helped me up my game.