what is your favortite thing about reefing?

[death-by-reef]

i really want to get into the hobby and because Im a teenage soon 2 be reefer i have to convince my mom.
What are the best things about this hobby?

 

[djs4him]

i really want to get into the hobby and because Im a teenage soon 2 be reefer i have to convince my mom.
What are the best things about this hobby?

You learn a ton. You'll learn about ecosystems. Oceanography. Water chemistry. Biology. Plumbing. Thermodynamics.

You get to be artistic and design a tiny piece of ocean for your home. You get to care for animals that, without your care, wouldn't live nearly as long in the wild. You get to preserve corals (if you choose) that are otherwise endangered of extinction in the wild.

Lastly, the hobby can become your full time career if you so choose.

 

[Smoke-Town]

Convince mom huh? It will teach you about how biology actually works both on land and at sea. Giving you a greater understanding and appreciation of nature. It will also tech you basic chemistry and just how interesting science is as a whole. It also teaches you how to properly care for sensitive animals and how to understand animal behavior. It teaches you great responsibility and requires lots of research and studying which keeps you mind sharp for any academic goals in the future.
You will learn a unique skill that only a small minority of this planet are capable of. One day this hobby will probably have to save the world's oceans... thereby saving the world

 

[djs4him]

I will say one teeny tiny con is .. it's an expensive hobby.

There are tons of things you can do to mitigate costs .. but no matter how you dice it, you will spend a lot of money in this hobby .. either voluntarily by choice or involuntarily when something undesirable or an emergency occurs.

Not a reason to avoid the hobby .. the benefits far outweigh the risks. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[death-by-reef]

thanks guys, this will rly help

 

[bnord]

it teaches responsibility and patience - mom should go for that

 

[death-by-reef]

oo good 1

 

[MONTANTK]

It promotes creativity in every aspect from aquascaping, choosing corals, dealing with any issues that may arise. It’s also very rewarding once you start to see things grow

 

[death-by-reef]

ok

 

[Dburr1014]

i really want to get into the hobby and because Im a teenage soon 2 be reefer i have to convince my mom.
What are the best things about this hobby?

Respect of other life.
Responsibility to keep them alive.
Research
Chemistry
So many things.
And you will make a bunch of friends. People from other walks of life. This is called networking if one day you get a job from it.
Mom would love that.

 

[death-by-reef]

this has really helped, and she decided to let me get one.
but I have to pay for it.

 

[Dburr1014]

this has really helped, and she decided to let me get one.
but I have to pay for it.

Mow lawns
Odd jobs
You'll find a way.

 

[death-by-reef]

I already do odd jobs to finance my freshwater tanks.

 

[Blue Cheese]

Spending thousands to keep hundreds,that concept always makes me laugh when I think about it

 

[Dburr1014]

Spending thousands to keep hundreds,that concept always makes me laugh when I think about it

Huh?
What does this mean?
This is a not cheap hobby and as any hobby, need to spend money.

I understand the saying, my company spent 10k twice moveing a machine just to save time in the manufacturing process. The second move was literally less than 50 feet.
But the saying doesn't apply to a hobby.

 

[Blue Cheese]

Huh?
What does this mean?
This is a not cheap hobby and as any hobby, need to spend money.

I understand the saying, my company spent 10k twice moveing a machine just to save time in the manufacturing process. The second move was literally less than 50 feet.
But the saying doesn't apply to a hobby.

sounds like a new thread to start

 

[Dburr1014]

sounds like a new thread to start

Okay, whatever.

 

[death-by-reef]

?

 

[Rmckoy]

this has really helped, and she decided to let me get one.
but I have to pay for it.

If you’re able to financially support your hobby there really is nothing mom could worry about .

 

[Spare time]

You learn a ton. You'll learn about ecosystems. Oceanography. Water chemistry. Biology. Plumbing. Thermodynamics.

You get to be artistic and design a tiny piece of ocean for your home. You get to care for animals that, without your care, wouldn't live nearly as long in the wild. You get to preserve corals (if you choose) that are otherwise endangered of extinction in the wild.

Lastly, the hobby can become your full time career if you so choose.

To be fare, a lot of things we own don't live as long as they would in the wild. Corals are especially what come to mind. Also given the large number of fish killed by the hobby (from the process of catching the fish, to getting to the tank, and disease, tank failures, mishaps, etc., I hesitate to think the fish on average live longer in most scenarios. Its also interesting to discuss preserving corals, because what we are preserving is a very slim portion of reefs (particularly in that we only spread corals in the hobby via their asexual reproduction, meaning we all just have genetic clones that we keep).


However, I do think that, in the right mindset, this hobby can get peoeple interested in topics they normally wouldn't care about (such as fish disease, chemistry, etc.)