How wasteful is this Hobby?

NanaReefer · Dec 11, 2013

Funny how some have brought *others* into this topic as being much more wasteful then reefing.
Personally I do get a twinge about all the water I send down the drain. But as another poster stated, it's actually being recycled in some fashion or another-so now I feel a little better

Now I think about all the money spent on corals that have died-is this a waste? Wish I had that money now? Well I've actually made that money back (and then some) by selling corals

I think most waste being produced in this hobby comes in the beginning. Lack of knowledge burns the biggest holes in the pockets.
I bought a Hydor nano skimmer ($120.00) for my 26g. 1yr later it is now sitting inna box. Total waste of money! Lack of knowledge buy for sure.

FX CharityCorals · Dec 11, 2013

I see the topic has taken a more individual situation. Everyone has their level of comfort to what is acceptable to them and ways to rationalize. I was speaking more in terms of macro hobby. We are all but a small specialized group of people who are very passionate for well being and efficiency. What is done on wholesale levels with all the Styros and plastic bags? From transshippers? What is ratio of corals and fish that are collected to the ones that make it into tanks?

As far as ro waste water not being a waste again comes down to definition. That water is recycled which takes energy. So to me it's being treated as grey water at the plants.

Great convo guys

KoleTang · Dec 11, 2013

That's all extremely minuscule in the scheme of things. Look at our wrappers, then look at McDonalds wrappers. It takes some energy to clean a few gallons more water from a small group of people spread out across the world... so what.

We can't control import of corals and fish. That is regulated by governments. Some importers/wholesalers are very environmentally friendly when it comes to the lives of the animals, some are complete wanton wasteful, careless idiots. The sad thing is, we really can't do much about it.

What is really important though. Is how, not necessarily our hobby, but certain idiots in the Florida area who kept saltwater aquariums, introduced an invasive species into the Caribbean. Now there are lion fish EVERYWHERE from Mexico to Massachusetts. Now THAT's a problem. And we can do something about it.

[video=youtube;uVvBCRP5y3I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVvBCRP5y3I[/video]

Velodog2 · Dec 11, 2013

This is a toughie the more I think about it because I want to say every thing about this is a waste because it is a "hobby" and by definition is an entertainment. You can go on about educational aspects yada yada but hell watching tv can (in theory) be educational too.

But forget the water everyone seems concerned about wasting, the thing that this hobby consumes more than anything else and far more than most hobbies is energy. Keeping sometimes large tropical systems in areas of sub-freezing temps takes a lot of energy. So does keeping them cool in hot climates. Shipping animals and (especially) their water halfway around the globe takes a lot of energy. My electric bill was cut in half years ago when I got rid of my big sps reef system. Everything about a tank uses energy.

Eienna · Dec 12, 2013

I use the water from my reef when I change it to change mom's FO tank now...because my reef will never be allowed to get to the params of an FO...lol. Saves me water and salt and the fish don't seem to mind.

Eienna · Dec 12, 2013

I feel that the most wasteful side is those reefers who refuse to do their research, adding anything and everything they feel like and so making horrible stocking mistakes that lead to much death and destruction. A close second is collectors utilizing poor methods such as cyanide - but with the current captive breeding efforts, both responsible collecting and irresponsible collecting will hopefully soon become a thing of the past.

KoleTang · Dec 12, 2013

Eienna said:
I feel that the most wasteful side is those reefers who refuse to do their research, adding anything and everything they feel like and so making horrible stocking mistakes that lead to much death and destruction. A close second is collectors utilizing poor methods such as cyanide - but with the current captive breeding efforts, both responsible collecting and irresponsible collecting will hopefully soon become a thing of the past.

+1 to all this

mcarroll · Dec 12, 2013

I try not to think of the carbon footprint of our hobby (or the rest of our lifestyle for that matter) too much. But here goes...

ON OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Organisms from cyano's to cnidarians collectively spent the entire history of our planet (4 billion years?) locking errant carbon molecules up into various limestone (which is carbon+oxygen) and petroleum (which is carbon+hydrogen) deposits - seemingly just to create a habitable atmosphere for us.

To get an idea what they "saved us from" with all that work - as to how alien the atmosphere and planet Earth can be - just consider that for a period of time there were fungus forests with mushrooms the size of trees, dwarfing all other life at the time. Conditions were right for fungus to dominate!

Along comes us hundreds of millions of years later in this nicely oxygenated atmosphere and what do we do all day long? Things that undo this work like making lime.

Yes, as in limewater or kalkwasser, as well as a billion other uses like cement, glass-making and farming just to name some "little" ones.

In a nutshell, making lime involves burning insane quantities of hydrocarbons in order to burn huge quantities of limestone, to get a quantity of lime.

It's a wicked double-whammy of CO2 release. We have a good idea what happens when we overdose with CO2 or another carbon source in our tanks and it's never good.

(Of course this is grossly over-simplified. IANAChemist,Biologist,Geologist or any other kind of expert, just a reefer. So please feel free to issue corrections and details.)

ON OUR HOBBY
Everyone switching to LED's makes a dent, and the sooner everyone makes the switch the better. But when all aspects of the carbon problem are considered, it's not a very big dent. Growing a garden, for example, for part of your food would make a much larger dent, if making a dent (vs keeping a reef) is the idea.

-Matt

ReefPiracy · Dec 12, 2013

Of course we are in a time of trying to limit are foot print. Try to create better ideas with how to transfer and house animals.

mcarroll · Dec 12, 2013

SloppyWhenWet said:
Of course we are in a time of trying to limit are foot print. Try to create better ideas with how to transfer and house animals.

+1

Above all, shop locally! Minimize the transferring.

Dtech07 · Dec 12, 2013

All my RODI water goes into a 55gallon drum and used for gardening in my yard, I reuse ALL bags, Styrofoam for other sells and packing and all cardboard is either burned during the winter or recycled at a recycling plant.

Velodog2 · Dec 12, 2013

mcarroll said:
+1

Above all, shop locally! Minimize the transferring.

Yes! Another great reason to avoid wild caught fish and corals.

eliramos · Dec 12, 2013

i consider myself a pretty big tree hugger.
am i going to chain myself to one, no.
but i will do my best to recycle my paper products..and tell others how its important they do so also.

thats how i see this hobby
There is nothing in the world that you can do w.o producing waste its all about how you deal with the waste, what you get from the hobby, and most importantly, what you can give back.
as an aquarist its our responsibility to educate not only other aquarists on what we've learned but to show the world how fragile the marine system is.
you guys know this too well...
let your temp get to high
salinity too high
introduce the wrong fish to a stable environment
frag a coral wrong,
watch those corals get too close
The list goes on.
I cant tell you how many times ive gone over these with people who walk into my house, see the tank, and bombard me by asking questions. these tanks are the best conversation starters i think ive ever seen. Yes these aquariums are relaxing, and beautiful to look at...But i believe we have a duty to educate those with curiousity who have no idea that this is what goes on in the ocean.
With these systems we get to put a magnifying glass on the sea and are given the opportunity to really appreciate how fragile and intricate the marine ecosystem is that covers half our planet.
Is our hobby cheap no, can it be wasteful if not researched properly, yes. but that goes with anything.
the only way i see this hobby as truly wasteful is if you dont share what youve learned with others, dont educate those with questions, or collect your fish corals etc irresponsibly.
thats just my .02