[Dearth]

I was having a hot chocolate at Timmie's with a couple of friends tonight and we started talking about aquariums and eventually the talk progressed to my tank and how I liked the hobby. Soon after 3 couples nearby started asking questions and I suddenly became an orator.

I talked about my experiences the highs and the lows the endless frustrations and boundless joy. I did not shy away from the costs nor did I encourage anyone to get into the SW hobby unless as I informed everyone that they had a lot of commitment and patience.

Some questions caught me off guard like "Why are SW aquarists so anal about their Tanks?" I took the time to explain that SW was an exclusive club at one time reefing was super expensive and the learning curve was steep and many SW enthusiasts at the time were very protective and a wrong move could kill an entire tank overnight with a very high price tag attached. This was a question that was easy to answer but tough to convey.

Another question I was asked "How come more people don't know about SW aquarium hobby?" This one I had no ready answer for but in hindsight outside of major centers many people don't realize that the hobby is readily accessible and don't know if there is even a SW community in the area because if the LFS doesn't carry SW related items nobody asks. I was fortunate to have a friend who was in the hobby and helped me start up.

in addition to the questions I talked about sustainability and many reefers are supportive of ORA raised fish, coral and inverts. I also talked a lot about research do your homework I love to surf the net so its easy for me to find info but for others its a painful process but a little research will save you a ton of grief compared to no research at all.

All in all it was almost 2 hours of me talking and answering questions. There were a good many questions I could not answer and some that were entertaining to answer. I don't have the experience of the long time reefers but I think I am just as passionate as they are but I also truly enjoy telling people about the hobby and have no problems answering the same question over and over.

It was a good evening