Just some rambling and remembering

[Dearth]

Just some musing and memories of my short time in the hobby


I joined the hobby in spring of 2012 and a few short years I’ve been in it the hobby has changed a lot some for the better some for the worse.

Equipment was and still is in some respects expensive to buy LED lighting was just starting to break into the mainstream market and I remember a set of ATI lights was close to $3000 now you can buy good quality LEDs for under $700

Coral was cheap when I started I could buy a drag of Hammer or get a good sized maze brain for under$15 and $30 respectively now your lucky To see a a small hammer frag for under $50 and maze brains start at $80. Part of it was the popularity of the hobby took off and it became harder to farm frags in the wild due to new laws And regulations now the rage is Tank raised coral.

Many hobbyists that I learned from no longer post on the forums or have left the hobby for various reasons and the tanks they had were bar none beyond beautiful not to say tanks today aren’t beautiful but some of the tanks back then were something to behold.

With the hobby becoming “affordable” and Big tanks were no longer heavily pushed a lot of new people got into the hobby but with the rise of social media a lot of informative forums have stopped operating and given rise to short messages posted on social media sites and lack of research being done by new hobbyists led to an increase of equipment/tanks and live stock being sold by people who had quit the hobby due to bad advice, lack of advice and rushing through the hobby to name but a few things.

Tank viewings were a big thing when I first started in the hobby and locally we had an annual event which I was thankful to be part of for 8 years but the interest waned and people stopped showing up except for the core reefers and eventually the event was cancelled. I still show my tank when asked but it’s not a common occurrence anymore I used to show it 10-15 times a year now it’s maybe 1-3 times a year if I’m lucky.

The community no longer feels as close as it once did, yes it has evolved and changed but I miss those days when I travelled to Edmonton, Calgary And Kamloops and local reefers would invite me to look at their setups and that was something to see and behold now it is a rarity for that to happen. I remember one fellow in Calgary had a 390 gallon reef tank it was well over 9 feet long and right beside the tank he had a terrarium setup with 3 lizards and another tank across the room With fresh water Discus in it he has since left the hobby.

SW stores were never plentiful but you had options when I first started but many started to shut down or leave the hobby due to limited markets or economic reasons now for someone like me it’s an 8 hr drive if roads are good to get to J&L or to stores in Edmonton if I don’t order online and it’s only going to get worse with the pandemic as some businesses wont survive and choices will get fewer.

If you made it through my ramble thank you for indulging my musings and my faulty memories😎.

[hillegom]

I think your memories are better than mine.
This covid thing has dampened a lot of activity.
I have not set foot into a SW store in months. Although I have gotten a few frags from members, albeit at social distancing.
I too, miss going into friends houses and admiring their setups.
Once a month, a few of us, used to go out for dinner,here in Surrey, and talk shop and exchange frags. This was open to everyone who wanted to attend.
Here in the Lower Mainland, we have a lot more options than you have in PG.
But the SW stores are not stocking as much as they used to. Less walk in traffic must be the reason. And I think shipping is not as good as it used to be.
I am rambling on as well.