What makes the hobby so important to you?

[Gumbies R Us]

I feel like a lot of us, this hobby means a lot to us. Whether it is the friends we have made in the hobby, the joy we get from maintaining a salt water tank or for some maybe even a career. I am wondering what makes this hobby so important to you? Curious to know what everyone says!

 

[liudachris]

I like to grow things but I hate yard work and heat outside (I live in TX)

 

[legalizedreefer]

I’m a reef obsessed person living in the Canadian prairies. If I lived in Hawaii I would scuba dive every day. This is the next best thing for me.

We also have long, brutal winters here. Not much time is spent outside for about 5 months. This gives me a slice of the natural world during those times.

I also find the complexity keeps my mind busy. You can make this hobby as challenging as you’d like to and I love that. I have pretty severe ADHD and before this hobby I was would hobby jump. I’d be fully invested in one thing, quickly lose interest and then on to the next thing. Once this hobby gets “boring” I just pick the next thing to re-complicate it again. Whether it be more difficult corals, equipment, etc. I love that I can observe something like low pH or ORP and then spend hours and hours looking in to my options to remedy that.

 

[Dburr1014]

The sheer joy of it, the accomplishments, and to, keeping my mind busy.

 

[Mschmidt]

Right now it feels like sunk cost. If I weren't so invested I would be out. But I'm in a funk with a lot of outside problems.

Fishkeeping in general for me is about husbandry. I like trying to keep things alive and happy.

 

[SPS2020]

For me, it's the gratification that comes from all the effort (and money) that goes into the tank on a daily basis. There's a ton of work and stress, but then you see those lovely, colorful polyps waving in the flow and you are greatly rewarded.

 

[7of9]

I grew up on a farm and growing things is in my blood. I used to have a garden that I tended, but in January of 2022, I had an incomplete spinal cord injury and my life turned upside down. I had to move out of the house with the garden into an apartment that was handicap accessible while I went through multiple surgeries, stays in rehab, and a ton of neuro physical therapy to learn to walk again. Thankfully, I'm almost fully recovered, but my garden is gone and gardening probably isn't the best pastime for me anymore.

I had a reef tank several years ago that I loved, but it didn't occur to me to think about having another one until I saw an ad for a LFS. I started thinking and realized that a nano tank might be a nice substitute for my garden and with the help of my older teenaged kids (17 and 19) for the heavy lifting, I could manage it.

So, here I am. I like tending things like plants or corals because I find it relaxing and it connects me to nature in a way that I need. I just don't feel like myself unless I'm growing something.

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

For me, it's the opportunity to be creative from designing, building, and setup of a tank. Then the planning of livestock and the rewards/challenges of keeping it all alive. When people visit they love seeing the tank and what creatures I have inside. This hobby provides so much to keep you learning and engaged from chemistry, lighting, fish, corals, to tech or gear. It's all there. It can be as challenging or pricey as you want it to be. It teaches patience and delayed gratification. Consistent work with slow returns. But all said and done, when I sit down and look at the tank I'm proud of the effort.

 

[cwerner]

 

[Seancj]

For me, it's the opportunity to be creative from designing, building, and setup of a tank. Then the planning of livestock and the rewards/challenges of keeping it all alive. When people visit they love seeing the tank and what creatures I have inside. This hobby provides so much to keep you learning and engaged from chemistry, lighting, fish, corals, to tech or gear. It's all there. It can be as challenging or pricey as you want it to be. It teaches patience and delayed gratification. Consistent work with slow returns. But all said and done, when I sit down and look at the tank I'm proud of the effort.

Well said! My thoughts exactly!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

For me, it's the opportunity to be creative from designing, building, and setup of a tank. Then the planning of livestock and the rewards/challenges of keeping it all alive. When people visit they love seeing the tank and what creatures I have inside. This hobby provides so much to keep you learning and engaged from chemistry, lighting, fish, corals, to tech or gear. It's all there. It can be as challenging or pricey as you want it to be. It teaches patience and delayed gratification. Consistent work with slow returns. But all said and done, when I sit down and look at the tank I'm proud of the effort.

I have to agree with this!

 

[UtahReefer]

The challenge of growing a living reef. The beauty of it, along with the trails and tribulations to get there!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

it brings me back, I'd say it's alot of nostalgia

 

[Gill the 3rd]

For me, it's the opportunity to be creative from designing, building, and setup of a tank. Then the planning of livestock and the rewards/challenges of keeping it all alive. When people visit they love seeing the tank and what creatures I have inside. This hobby provides so much to keep you learning and engaged from chemistry, lighting, fish, corals, to tech or gear. It's all there. It can be as challenging or pricey as you want it to be. It teaches patience and delayed gratification. Consistent work with slow returns. But all said and done, when I sit down and look at the tank I'm proud of the effort.

^agreed. There is constant learning, especially with all the different ways people run successful tanks. I feel like there is also nothing more relaxing after a stressful day than sitting and looking at your tank.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

it brings me back, I'd say it's alot of nostalgia

I can agree with this, I remember being a kid and us having this big 75-100g tank with all sorts of fish in it. I never really did anything with it since I was young, but I remember looking at it all the time.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I can agree with this, I remember being a kid and us having this big 75-100g tank with all sorts of fish in it. I never really did anything with it since I was young, but I remember looking at it all the time.

similar story with me!!

 

[shakacuz]

i love the sea. this hobby makes it so i can keep a piece of the vast ocean in my living space!

 

[Poseidon03]

There is a lot to it for me.

First off, I've always wanted to be a marine biologist/zoologist, but I ended up in engineering due to schools and potential job locations after college. I enjoy engineering a lot, but the reef takes me back to my true passion.

Secondly, I live in the middle of the Mid West, so there's nowhere I can go to snorkel. When I go on vacation on the coast, I could snorkel all day every day. Being able to have that little slice of reef in my living room is priceless.

Thirdly, I am a busy body. I like to keep busy and keep my mind busy. I'm easily bored and the combination of the research needed, community to talk with, and work to be done on the tank keeps my mind busy and is super relaxing. I also enjoy a challenge and this hobby is humbling as we all know.

Finally, the reefing community is one of the best and most supporting community out there. There are some people that keep trade secrets and withhold information, but for the most part, the community shares information openly and tries to advance the hobby. Most of the community genuinely wants to help others and are supportive when you fail. Try to find another hobby like that.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

There is a lot to it for me.

First off, I've always wanted to be a marine biologist/zoologist, but I ended up in engineering due to schools and potential job locations after college. I enjoy engineering a lot, but the reef takes me back to my true passion.

Secondly, I live in the middle of the Mid West, so there's nowhere I can go to snorkel. When I go on vacation on the coast, I could snorkel all day every day. Being able to have that little slice of reef in my living room is priceless.

Thirdly, I am a busy body. I like to keep busy and keep my mind busy. I'm easily bored and the combination of the research needed, community to talk with, and work to be done on the tank keeps my mind busy and is super relaxing. I also enjoy a challenge and this hobby is humbling as we all know.

Finally, the reefing community is one of the best and most supporting community out there. There are some people that keep trade secrets and withhold information, but for the most part, the community shares information openly and tries to advance the hobby. Most of the community genuinely wants to help others and are supportive when you fail. Try to find another hobby like that.

I can agree with the busy body! It feels weird when I have a day when I don't have anything to do, I feel like I need to be doing something all the time haha. Also, this community has been amazing too!

 

[Northern Flicker]

It’s always so redeeming to see life thriving in the tank. Whether it’s pods or coral growth, I can sit for hours and watch life play out in this little ecosystem.