This is private...

revhtree · Apr 9, 2019

Some people LOVE to entertain and have people over to their home at all times! Some people love to show off their reef tanks to others in the hobby. On the other hand there are those who are more private for various reasons. What about you?

When it comes to showing off your reef tank, to other reefers, at your house how private are you and why?

image via @IvanW

saintsreturn · Apr 9, 2019

My tank and its room is a point of pride for me. That said, when i have people over, i always close the doors to the room. They have a glass interior, so if someone asks i open it up and allow people to go in. There are a select few (those who help me with the tank) who can come and go from there freely.

I chose to be more on the private side for the following reasons:
1) I am very high energy and always on the go, so this room is my place of peace and calm. I dont want that messed with.
2) I love my friends and family, but... this sounds horrible... I dont trust them or the minions to respect the system the way i intent. Dont poke, mess with the lights, open doors, etc....
3) My tank stand is setup for me and i know the nuances of it. For example, grab my door handle and the whole door comes off. Dont need a kid taking a door to the face in my house... Also, the canopy sticks, so dont put pressure in bad places to risk shifting of something...

And on the lighter side, maybe the main reason deep down... If you want to see the tank, i want to be there to answer questions and explain what you are looking at. People gravitate to my blue plumbing and call the sump, skimmer, top off drawer, electrical panel all complex. Its not, so its my chance to explain and remove pre existing notions about the tank. I want to talk about it, but i want to be there to do so.

With the kids, its really fun to have them look around for my limpet snails and Halloween crabs.

Ruben's Reef · Apr 9, 2019

I don't have any other reefers that I know locally but a few freshwater fish keeper friends.

sbash · Apr 9, 2019

I have (essentially) two systems: My 220 which is in my living area of my house, so only people who are 'invited' socially over will see it.

My other system is my fish room (in my basement) and features 90 Gallon display tank along with my frag tanks, so that is all any local hobbyist gets to see as they come over to buy/sell/trade. I always bring them in through the basement, lol... shh...

That said, I am not trying to hide my 220 from any one, I am more looking to not disrupt my family by bringing people through the house. Having to make sure everyone is wearing pants can be a challenge...

revhtree · Apr 9, 2019

Sorry I edited the thread and should clarify. The question was meant for other reefers. How private are you about letting other hobbyists come to your home to see the tank?

Dimmy007 · Apr 9, 2019

Well my tank is in my restaurant. So there is absolutely no privacy. Which I am fine with. When I'm cleaning it or working on things, the employees or customers always want to know whats going on. I love answering their questions and helping people learn about aquarium life. I do have preventive measures, like a top on the tank. Locks on the cabinet doors. And everyone knows if they see someone banging on the glass we get to scold them. The employees have almost adopted the tank as their own. Although they don't help in anyway besides looking at it and occasionally using the magnetic cleaner, they really do care about it and let me know about every little thing they see. As far as other reefers. A lot of them have come to the restaurant to see it. Especially since our LFS in close by and he lets other reefers know about my tank. I invite all to see my setup and I listen to others opinions, but as we all know nobody knows your tank like you do.

revhtree · Apr 9, 2019

My wife is very private when it comes to people she doesn't really know. She loves people but gets a little apprehensive if she doesn't know them.

Jeight · Apr 9, 2019

My tank is in my Kitchen...if your invited into the kitchen (my wife is also a priv person) then your home free to see the tank

Gonebad395 · Apr 9, 2019

I have to get to know you before you come to my house plainband simple. I selected option 3 which is true but only after I know you online for a bit. I used to sell a lot of coral when I had my large display up and would invite anyone a few people ruined that for everyone just turned out weird. I have kids and a wife and work crazy hours some times and didn’t like the feeling some gave me so I put a stop to that. I love my tank and the hobby but feeling uneasy isn’t worth it. I can show my tank off here as much as I want or as little want. Now if I don’t know you there is a grocery store parking lot I can meet you at 5 mins from my house.

Dsnakes · Apr 9, 2019

I’m fairly open about friends checking it out, though having different people over to see it depends on my wife’s mood as she is more private than I am.

I do have a frag system in my office by our bedroom though. Due to its location in our house it is somewhere I would only take close friends and family.

Waters · Apr 9, 2019

I let anybody in to see the tank that wants to see it.....assuming it is clean of course

lolgranny · Apr 9, 2019

Not private at all over here, heck, I have 25 windows in my house all with no window treatments. I live on 4 acres and from the road or the river you can see my tank. I have neighbors who walk the street or boaters stop and ask what’s going on in there lol. I have a dog, a security system, and plenty of guns. Plus I’m not the smallest of guys.

dantimdad · Apr 9, 2019

My house has two teenagers in it. There is a dang revolving door on the kitchen!

I have gotten used to someone always being over.

Everyone asks about the tank(s) and I am happy to give a tour of them.

That being said, once the store is open, my fiance' said the house is off limits to aquarium visitors. LOL!

JoshKReef · Apr 9, 2019

You guys don't charge admission? Gotta pay for this stuff somehow!

Reeferguy365 · Apr 9, 2019

My 180 is in the living room with a 10' window so everyone on my street knows about my tank lol. I love showing it off any chance I get

4FordFamily · Apr 9, 2019

People can come check out my tanks but I am not overly social outside of here or work in general — I try to have several people come at a time. I can host local meets without issue.

The lack of social behavior is more because of how I have to be more extroverted at work. Lots of team dynamics, clients, etc. My clients are very difficult to interact with, I do well with them but it’s still exhausting (my clients have homes $1,000,000 to $20,000,000). Between managing people, clients, team members — anyone that works in corporate America can probably understand how taxing it is, even if you are a clear extrovert.

I actually sit somewhere right on the fence between an introvert and extrovert. I’m comfortable with either. However, I “recharge” 60% of the time with being alone at home with family or close friends. This makes me think I’m slightly leaned introverted. The Myers Briggs test and results indicated just how uncommon it is to be split like that. If I am couped up for long periods of time I need social interaction to recharge. Really odd and many of my professors said that’s almost unheard of. Who knows.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand:

I like to talk to other hobbyists and show off my tank, I also have limited time to do so. My wife and I are almost never together with our work schedules so it’s usualy me and two kids 5 and 3. This makes it difficult sometimes. Weekends it’s just me and the kids 2-3 weekends per month. As much of a blessing as that is it makes social events difficult!

So, another obligatory “it depends” answer.

4FordFamily · Apr 9, 2019

Reeferguy365 said:
My 180 is in the living room with a 10' window so everyone on my street knows about my tank lol. I love showing it off any chance I get

Haha you can see my 180 between my kitchen and living room (open concept) as soon as you open the door to my house so people at the door always ask! You can see it from outside with the house lights off, too!

Ron Reefman · Apr 9, 2019

When I had my big tanks with lots of LPS and SPS corals that I had to frag, I had people over 2 to 4 days a week buying frags. Lots of return friends and even a lot of friends of friends who heard about me by word of mouth.

But in the last year, since I downsized to a 40g zoa and RFA tank, I don't have frags to sell... yet. And I only sold one RFA online... you're welcome Kristina!

Maybe I'll start selling again soon as my tank is pretty full and I keep getting new RFA babies. Three spawns in the last 2 years and about 25 babies. The nems in the photo are smaller than a dime.

Mr.Asbury · Apr 9, 2019

Mine's in my classroom, and I have a bunch of kids looking at it every day, plus janitors and other teachers who stop in before/after school. It still has a lot of room to go to be worth showing off to anyone outside of class, though!

reefwiser · Apr 9, 2019

I share my tanks quite a bit. Having hobbyist come over to learn about equipment. To get corals and cuttings from my planted tanks. I have some hobbyist come by my house every other week. I enjoy sharing the hobby. If I didn't it would not be very fun hobby for me.