How to keep peace in the saltwater household.
 

Was reading through the tips & tricks forum and thought a few tips for keeping your significant other happy is long over due.


TOP TEN TIPS ON HOW TO KEEP PEACE IN THE SALTWATER HOUSEHOLD

1. Try to get him/her interested in your hobby. Have them help with
aquascaping or picking out a frag sometime.
2. Fake interest in their hobby; even if it is needlepoint or flower arranging.
3. Don't put off household chores so you can work on your tank. Take out
the garbage first.
4. Convince him/her that live rock IS a good choice for an anniversary
present.
5. Volunteer to cook dinner on Saturday nights. The money you save from
eating out can go towards that new SPS colony you want.
6. Get 2 computers. ('Cuz Canreefers spend way too much time on-line.)
7. Never set-up a tank in your bedroom. He/she may catch you watching
your fishes.
8. Never, ever, cook live rock in a room that they may enter.
9. Never do a water change when he/she is home. That way you can clean
up the mess before they get home.
10. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL: always pay cash for your S/W
purchases; or get your own credit card and have the statement sent to a
post office box.


Anything I've missed? Let's hear them.

I,m guilty of number seven, but then I am single so don't have to worry.:biggrin::wink:

Maybe that is why you are single. HaHa:lol:

Chris

Number 5 is awesome.. :lol:

Ya number 5 is good, and really, for number 10 does anyone really track all the spending they do in this hobby.

NEVER ever take water from your RO/DI unit and tell her its better water then the tap.

Ha, I got my girl to believe it, just put it in a nice bottle.

lolz, for me its an issue of dealing with my parents

you have to do things like:

start by asking for lets say, a 20 gallon, and then either come home with something bigger, or just say it fits in the space better.

or, you do the ol' switcheroo.while the parents are out, you hide the 5 gallon and go get a 10 gallon, they wont notice :P

surprisingly the first method works. my reef which i am still currently building started out with "mom, i really like fish, and i have them at dads house. can i just get a goldfish bowl here?"

hehehehe

o, and one more thing. always try to show your parents that you ARE learning things by doing it. :)

LOL, this just cracks me up and I can so relate to several, heehee. Now instead of LR for a present I just need to convince hubby that frags are theeee best gift ever :biggrin:

If your convincing works with the hubby can you convince my fiance that it is not weird to have fish stores on the wedding registry?

Or man up and put your foot down. lol, i have had a few girlfriends think its weird how i like fish and frogs. It's my life and my escape from reality.

11. Let her pick out the frags and then find a distraction while you pay the bill. I made the mistake of letting mine see the bill tonight, funniest thing is half of the stuff I picked up was already paid for. hehehe

Go
 

:idea:When you start giving away the furniture so that you have room for one more
tank.
When you start to see the mold growing on the windows.
But the most important rule in the hobby umm, let me think resist the impulse
for one more tank. (THEN WATCH OUT FOR HUMAN COMBUSTION)
Hey number 2: admit to ourselves yes, we have an addiction and will seek treatment
as soon as I set up this last tank.:redface::twised:
________
buy herbalaire

This one goes hand-in-hand with #10. Never, ever, EVER keep the receipts from your purchases anywhere they can be found. I keep all my receipts in what I thought was a safe place. Uh, uh she found them. Uh-oh!:sad:

Trade.
I don't mind if you go to Vegas with the boys...you just don't mind the new tank/$1000.00 I spent at the store.

Mind you, I've been blessed with a SO who is just as into the fish as I am..So I must be lucky

My wife handles the finances...ALL of them. #10 is merely a pipe dream for someone like me. Great list!

Well for me she don't care what i spend, its your hobby and you love it I LOVE YOU HONEY.......

OTHER then i thought she was in the other room when I bought the BUBBLE KING I CLICKED to pay and heard.

"MICHAEL WHAT DID YOU do"!!!! then i told her about the AIR miles that she can get from it.. :mrgreen:

Here is an observation.

The length of time that a drop of water remains on the floor is inversely proportional to a spouse's approval of a new purchase.

my wife is coming around took her a while, but eventually she is like, just spend the money and get it set up already.

thats so funny because my wife even suggested i put it on for our registry. but i said no its ok we can get stuff that we both like. i should have taken her up on the offer.

I waited till HE got a Harley - I got my first SW tank about a year later, and called it "My Harley". Now when parts for the Harley come in the mail I say "oh, looks like I"m going to the LFS this weekend", and he just smiles :)

the list is funny cause its true

Hilarious list!

I guess I am really lucky with my girl because she is fine with me spending money on the tank even though she says she doesn't understand why it costs so much.

I thought the other day when she noticed the "cute new fishy" that she may not have been impressed when I told her it was $200 but she just laughed. That was a few weeks ago and then today we were going out and I noticed she had on new boots, so I asked about them. She was like "yeah they were about $300, got them a few weeks ago and like when you put new things in the tank, I don't tell you until you notice.."

So it goes both ways with us :D

PLUS she buys expensive guitars...She has many hobbies.

LOL, yeah did that years ago... was supposed to be a 10 gallon and ended up being a 20, actually the same 20 I'll be using when I finally get past the planning / stand building phase of my tank :lol:

And thank god I'm single, my significant other would think I'm crazy :mrgreen:

Take up smoking
 

As I couldn't possible get away with hiding the money I spent -- and my wife is CHEAP, I quite smoking. But of course, I negotiated first.

That what you would spend on smoking, add it up, and them pull this -- "Hunny, if I quite smoking can I take half of the money each month and spend it on the tank" Cheapo wife (please don't let her read this) will always see that you end up in the plus and I get about $200-300 a month on top of what i WAS spending on the tank :)

lots of other options to clean up more money for frags/equipment -- stop getting a coffee form tim's every morning and make my own coffee before I head out, etc.

I've ended up now with about $500 a month set aside for my tank. Of course, I don't smoke, drink, eat out much, or generally do anything else that is fun anymore :(

My wife is not super imperessed with the money I spend on my tank. She started out supportive but about a hundred large purchases later her support has started to run dry.

We've come to a compromise now. We decided on a certain amount of money I can spend every month on the tank, and if I don't use it all it rolls into the next month. This works pretty good as theres no more supprises for her on our credit card.

Im pretty lucky to have a wife that is understanding enough to deal with the cost of a 220 gallon tank. And deal with all the fish talk!

I feel terrible for all you poor bastards.
Thanks goodness for this thread and how it has reafirmed my commitment to NEVER getting married.

LOL, but there's definatly an upside to it! You don't know what youre missing.

Not all of us are men....I am the one in the hobby, my husband is very supportive of it...remember "Happy Wife, Happy Life!" and he sticks to that! Plus he has his RC Helicopters to keep him busy!

Same here, I've tried and failed many times to sneak purchases by her..

My husband has the same philosophy :lol:

+1 and for sure TRUE THAT! Well, for now anyhow :lol:

it's different for women though, they are the gatekeepers....lol
Guys, especially when locked down to one gate, must keep the doors open.
I think it's common law all the way for me...thanks for the scary future image gents.
:mrgreen:

Although I started this thread, I should explain that it doesn't really apply to our household. My wife is great! She shows some interest in the hobby and never......sometimes........ hardly ever........ complains of the costs; even when I told her I wanted to buy a second tank. I've spilled and flooded countless times and she just laughs and calls me a DUMB A$$! Once I even sprayed sludgy return-line gunk all over her. (See my thread from 8/17/08 OH MAN! AM I EVER on the Missus' Sh-t List!)

LOL you keep receipts?? Dude thats just asking for them to be found. If I'm at the LFS with my hubby when they go to tell me the total and he's not directly nearby (ie. looking at the total on the register) I just put my finger to my lips and quietly pass them my credit card :wink:

I found another one tonight:
NEVER, EVER, EVER use her toothbrush to scrub coralline off a powerhead. :redface:

* When starting into the hobby, your first step should be to buy/find your own fish towels (use old single socks if you are on a tight budget). Under no circumstances should you use any household towels from the kitchen or the linen closet :sad:

My wife is actually pretty good about the hobby. She's been with me since I started into the hobby a while ago so she knows very well how much everything cost and all the nuances that comes with the hobby. I think her reasoning is, every time I do anything tank related she knows exactly where I am and what I am doing. :lol:

Wow, I must be really lucky, saltwater aquarium and RC Helicopters is where my money go :lol:

If this is like the ten commandments then forgive me, I have sinned.....:twised:

or to clean your skimmers collections cup....:mrgreen: