why do you love this hobby???

[graphixx]

This is off the norm topic. But why are all of us obsessed with this hobby. I will start out, I grew up in Sandiego (La Jolla) and moved to Idaho right out of college. The thing that I missed the most was the ocean. I researched the hobby and started a small tank. Well time went by and I got too busy to keep the tank. Well 5 years ago I decided to give it another shot. I started with a 34 gallon and it was down hill from there. Since then I have upgraded god knows how many times.

But to me, I love this hobby because I am allways learning and am allways challenged by one thing or another. Just when you think you got the hang of it something happens. And to created something that is so beautifull with so much different color shapes and textures to me is amazing and the fact that its all alive!!!! I love it when someone comes over to my house that has never been over before and they walk into my family room and see my 92 gallon corner bowfront and just watch their jaw drop. That to me is the payoff for this hobby to see someone else enjoy it as well. (Wait till they see my new tank) But what keeps all of you in this hobby. what is the love (or the madness!!)that drives you each day to go elbow deep in saltwater!?!?!?

[jerryc]

The challenge of it is the big one for me growing and propagating coral
love it

[graphixx]

Jerry, I am fairly new to this forum but I have to say I do enjoy it. I wanted to congratulate you on TOTM that is a nice set up congrats!!!!!1

[dakar]

We started reefing on a whim of sorts... Angel and my daughter hauled me to an LFS to buy anything I wanted to setup the 55g tank we had that was collecting dust, made for a great birthday surprise! I decided I wanted to go SW.... from there it's been the a wild ride. The challenge was (and still is) the greatest part.
BTW it was only shortly after we got wet that CaptiveReefing was born. (Now if that isn't bordering between passion/obsession and complete madness nothing is!)

Of course it wasn't very long after starting we were totally hooked, tanks have been going up all over the house, taken down, moved and started again. Equipment moved from here to there, now we organize the house around them.
Now the challenge has moved to successful propagation.

The 'awe effect' from others when they see the 180 that dominates the lower living room is only surpassed by the looks when they see and realize it's all real and alive, not that anyone but another reefer really has any idea of what they are looking at.

Aside from that what keeps us at it is we each have a partner in it, we both enjoy the work and the rewards. Now our daughter is really gettng into it so that makes it even better. But knowing that none of it would exist without the other's work and efforts it takes to keep them up is really a great feeling. We make a good team, even if there are nights where the other is long asleep from exhaustion while the other is still shoulder deep in saltwater.

Besides a partner in crime is great thing to have when we have new prizes in the reef and the bills come up short for any given month. If we had to choose between some new coral and a fancy dinner out.... 9 out of 10 it would be McD's on the drive home with coolers full of new critters in the back seat.

[graphixx]

dakar,
Very well put. I have to give my wife alot of credit. she has really come around. she is now embracing this madness of mine. She calls me at the office if she sees something in the tank that does not look right. She has learned so much about the tanks. And yes our house is built around all of our tanks. In fact she just gave me the go ahead to do a 300 gallon in wall project that is underway as we speak. She is very excited about it. It is hard to describe the passion of this hobby to someone who is not involved in it. Most people its just filling a tank with water and throwing some food in there once a day. To me its a lot of the "behind the scenes" that keeps me going. And the propogation is awesome, I have really gotten into swapping and shipping and that is so much fun for me . I have met some really great people in this hobby. I would not give it up for the world.

[Whoyah]

That is tough question to answer. There is so many awesome things about this hobby. A couple top hitters for me are:

1. Create something beautiful and peaceful but so alien to our everyday environment.
2. A hobby that can include the whole family.
3. Learning about all of the critters that we keep and passing that on to others.
4. Figuring out how all of the pieces fit together so the system prospers.
5. Meeting great people who share the obsession.
6. Learning to be patient.

[Azrile]

Great thread.

[graphixx]

it seems that all of us agree that one of the things we love about this hobby are the challenges that this hobby brings (to some of us challenges arise daily). What are some of the hardest obstacles you have had in this hobby? I know that one of mine was learning patience. when I got back into this hobby I was so anxious that the cycling process almost killed me. Now its getting my parameters perfect for growing corals I think I have got it licked.

[flame]

My wife will point out that I am a workaholic. She has been trying for about 20 years to find something that will take my mind off of work and relax. A couple of months ago she talked me into converting one of the 50gal fresh water tanks to SW. She and the kids took care of the tanks and I helped when needed.

After 1 week into it I found it to be a great and relaxing. I now can tell you what time the LFS orders come in on Thursday. I also learned that my LFS guy is out to sell not help. (Has good prices on livestock) The SW tank has made some major changes in my work week and so far it has been a good thing. (well except for the $$$$$$) :LOL:

[dakar]

Bah, it's only money, but look at the beauty and happiness it brings into your life.

[mutts]

Hey I'm worse then all of you, I'm addictied to it and don't even have a tank set up yet.

Were did it start? I blame my parents. There were always gold fish tanks when I was little then, about half a year ago I talked my mom into getting the tank up and running again. We went tropical this time. So one day I went to the pet shop to see if there were any cool fish to put in the tank. I somehow got into the saltwater tanks and asked the man about it who laughed at me for thinking a clown and tank could live with my guppy
I had no clue. Then I foung a brackish water puffer and he was so cute, so I made the leap there. It wasn't that differant from freash but enough (with the salt and testing) to make me thinking I could do a saltwater tank.

So now in my living room sits a 55 gal still in the box with an assortment of object to get it up and running. Most of it is coming out of my own pocket so it is taking a lot longer.

But other then that I love aniamls. I love the exotic ones that I could never get near. But with this I can. I love to learn about them. And because of this there is a major chance I am goin to college to study Animal Conservation. And thats me who hardly passed biology and chem. lol

[Blk_Lotus]

My reefing experience began when I finally decided that I wanted some form of indoor pet that didn't shed hair or make noise. I do like my sleep and I'm not a real big fan of animal hair/pet dander. Too much vacuuming. Anyway, I was perusing a couple LFSs and came across a 55 gal SW kit that was 33% off. That pretty much sealed my fate. After I had the tank on the stand and filled with water, my friend needed to keep a bag of freshwater fish alive overnight until he could make the trek home the following day, so I suppose I owned a freshwater tank for a day there. Chasing 8 little tetras around in a naked 55 gallon tank without a net was an entertaining experience. And honestly, that was probably thebiggest challenge I had in the first month.

Things seem to go smoothly now, though it seems the beasties I've put in my tank have taken a particular liking to hiding BEHIND the powerhead between the mounting bracket and the glass. . . I've had to rescue my six line wrasse and my brittle star (though I don't really think the star needed rescuing, but I just couldn'tstomach the image of pureed starfish shooting out of my powerhead) both from back there. And there was the little issue of my Lawnmower blenny, "The Maw" fasting after he'd eaten EVERYTHING he could get his lips around off of my live rock. A month later, he finally decided that it was either eat the varieties I feed my tank, or look like an emaciated ling cod. Now he's back to full size despite acting a lot like a bulimic with his food. Hrm, I did say smoothly at the beginning of this paragraph didn't I??

Now if I could only ID this one plant-like organism in the tank (as well as find out what keeps eating it). Maybe I'll post a pic if I can ever some of it to grow big enough for my camera to get a good focus on it.

[dakar]

Mutts you are well on your way, it's really good to see 'younger' folks getting into the hobby/obsession. Seems setting up a reef can have a very positive impact on education and stuff... It wasn't too long ago our 14yo daughter was talking about going to college to study Marine Biology.... if she decided to persue chasing my life-long dream it'll surely make me proud.

Note: the *younger* adjective is not meant to be derogatory by any means, your folks should be proud, it takes a lot of learning and dedication to keep a successful reef and you should be applauded for it!

[shovelhead91701]

I got into this hobby by default! What I mean is, My girlfriend has FW tanks and said all of the time that she would love to try SW but they are too expensive. On our 1 yr. anniversary I got her what I thought was EVERYTHING needed to start up a SW tank. Man, Those guys at the LFS sure are helpful! NOT!!!!! Anywho, after setting up and talking to you guys, throwing away half of the crap the LFS sold me and replacing it with the correct gear, and working like a slave to make things right for life in a reef, we now have a start on a reef in our home. (somewhere along the way I fell in love w/ the process.) I think for me it is the science of it all more than the beauty of the reef. I want to keep something under my control that should be untameable. Just can't wait until we get our house ready for the new "big" tank. the 55 gal. is just too narrow for me.

[graphixx]

BUMP........ I think this is a great thread and wanted to see what some of the newer members had to say about their love for this hobby????

[at]

I have had freshwater tanks since I was a little kid. 5 years ago I sold my house and 55gal. freshwater tank with it. I swore if I ever got another tank,it would be saltwater,and big. My current tank is saltwater 155g, but now that is not big enough. The more I get into this hobby the more addicting it becomes.

[Fatman]

I live in Miami, and I basically group up on the water, my dad always owned a boat and we spent the summers our in Key Biscayne Bay or snorkling outside the bay. Then my friend got into the hobby, and I always wanted to get into it but could never afford it. I sold my car in December after Hurricane Wilma beat it up and I had no need for another one so I threw around 1,000$ down and some donations from my friend and got my self into a 55 and have enjoyed it since.

[RHAPALA]

i have grown up with fw fish and 2 years ago my firedept asked me if i would like to become a scuba diver for the dept i said yes got the training and what not well anyways i have always toyed with the idea of sw tanks but always thought no way too hard ... then heheh the place that tought me to dive was putting a trip for diving in the bahammas i was like scuba in the sea???? oh yeah i'm there i was totaly amased by the sites under the water i hahaha almost ran out of air because i was swiming in a school of fish feeding them looking at the f\reef it was really great ..............so in nov of this year i said i was gonna do it i had a 30 gal tank and started it lol it wasent 2 weeks later that i bought a 75 gal granted i dont have fish in it yet but i have lots of lr sand and soon 2 racks i am making i just putthe foam on one tonight. and i will start the other tomorrow then i will allow then 2 to 3 days to cure then i will put apoxy on them and allow that 2 to 3 days to cure add it to my tank but anyhoo nuff about that sofar i'm enjoying this new habit to quote a friend its just like crack cocain have a goods one all see ya around on cr

[perpetual98]

There's things to love about this hobby? :p

[jojo22]

Because it can cause you to experience every emotion known to man in a matter of minutes to hours.

[bobert]

Because it can cause you to experience every emotion known to man in a matter of minutes to hours.
and the perty colors

[Iconz]

The women that I get because I have a tank... oh wait, i'm too busy with my tank to have any women! (and i don't even have a wet tank, yet)... and i'm married. :P j/k...

I love this hobby already simply because there seems to be ENDLESS amounts of knowledge to gather and the fact that it seems that you'll never stop learning. Also, theres soooo many different ways to setup and run a tank, that even if you copy someone elses idea, you probably won't get the same results (and what you have won't be able to be truely copied either). So, every tank is different! The challenge and beauty are huge enjoyments as well. The last thing would be that I get to entertain 2 hobbies at once: reefing, and DIY! :)

[mickey57]

....I love thinking,"What the **** is that"!;)
......And teaching the Kids:D
................Mickey

[BrattyBritty]

.....it entertains my husband while I spend his money.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

What got me into sw was a mandarin I saw in a lfs. That did it for me. It seems like a 100 years ago now. I started with a FO them FOWLR, then a few mushrooms, then I upgraded the lighting and went to softies and LPS. My first sw tank was 29g. It was a disaster. Tank of death. I didn't know anything. I went without a sw tank for a year and decided to try again with a 55g that was once a fresh water tank. From there I went to a 125G reef with all of the right equiptment (skimmers and such). Then I got bit by the seahorse bug, and all of the reef tanks got sold and I now have 26 seahorses in 3 tanks. 65g (5 seahorses) 75g (6 seahorses) 5g (15 9wk old fry)

The thing I love most is the peaceful feeling I get watching the seahorses glide thru the water. They are beautiful to watch. Almost mystical.