Have you thought of quitting this hobby?

jhj0112 · #1 09-23-2017, 01:53 AM

This is the first time since I got into reefing (5 yrs) that I'm considering it...

I just had tank crash ( over dosing NO3PO4X and skimmer off for 2 weeks) and I pretty much lost everything that I loved including fishes.. only one clown is left..

It is really difficult to look at my tank as I have to pull out either dead fish or coral daily..

Have you guys gone through this? How did you guys bounce back? I'm so ****ed and feel like an idiot..

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Animal-Chin · #2 09-23-2017, 02:03 AM

Yup marine velvet killed all my fish once, I was really upset but kept going...

AquaAddict · #3 09-23-2017, 02:11 AM

Have been thinking about it for some time. Hubby and I are moving off the grid next Spring. I will have to shut down 150 gal display tank, 75 gal refugium and 40 gal sump.

I know its not quite the same thing but still....

AquaAddict

kien · #4 09-23-2017, 03:38 AM

Thinking about it is one thing, actually doing it? Well there are tonnes of people that just up and pull the plug (so to speak) on their tank all the time. There are a lot of reasons and factors that can contribute to this decision. Finances, life changes, priorities, kids. A lot of things that can go against having a tank. So ya, you're not alone. I've thought about it a few times myself, but every time I think about quitting, I rationalize how I would probably just end up missing the tank in a years or twos time. Then, I'd just end up wanting to get back into the hobby again, meaning upstart costs. The fear of upstart costs alone keeps me going, even when I don't want to sometimes. That said, if I lost everything in my tank I'd definitely have a harder time justifying staying in the hobby.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

kamloops_reefer · #5 09-23-2017, 04:38 AM

we had a crash 6 months ago - and same thing went through our mind. but we realized how much we really enjoy the hobby.

to move past this and stay in the hobby, look at this as a positive opportunity to finally do those things you wanted to do to the tank. If you are like us, that included setting up the rock how we wanted, getting the combination of fish we wanted and setting up certain hardware.

The lessons learned from these experienced hopefully aid in future enjoyment. I know they have for us

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #6 09-23-2017, 05:09 AM

When I lost literally thousands of dollars worth of fish (mostly large tangs) due to first a tank breaking and then a marine velvet outbreak, I was ready to throw in the towel. My wife convinced me to stay in it and my buddy Chin gave me his tank to get started again.

Anthony

Dearth · #7 09-23-2017, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

Thinking about it is one thing, actually doing it? Well there are tonnes of people that just up and pull the plug (so to speak) on their tank all the time. There are a lot of reasons and factors that can contribute to this decision. Finances, life changes, priorities, kids. A lot of things that can go against having a tank. So ya, you're not alone. I've thought about it a few times myself, but every time I think about quitting, I rationalize how I would probably just end up missing the tank in a years or twos time. Then, I'd just end up wanting to get back into the hobby again, meaning upstart costs. The fear of upstart costs alone keeps me going, even when I don't want to sometimes. That said, if I lost everything in my tank I'd definitely have a harder time justifying staying in the hobby.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Well said Kien

Everyone in this hobby has experienced heartbreak and despair and it will pull at your heartstrings but if you can view this as a learning experience and an opportunity to make changes

I personally have had 2 partial tank crashes and 2 red Cyanobacteria outbreaks that killed over 60% of my coral yet I bull through it and I make changes to rockscape and I get a better tank out of the deal each time.

Stick with it you might surprise yourself

mseepman · #8 09-24-2017, 06:59 PM

I lost almost all my coral of the last year, then my APEX blew up while I was on vacation and what had survived died. My fish are still going and I'm slowly building tank back. I still don't have any automation due to APEX failure and doing things manually is taxing me a lot, but I will survive and so will my tank. I love it too much as do my wife and kids. It's just a part of us all now.

jhj0112 · #9 09-25-2017, 01:40 AM

update: I thought the other clownfish was dead as she was laying on sand.

It turns out she is still alive.

After 2 water changes, she is now swimming but not taking any food yet..

she, her partner and YWG are the only reason I care about the tank.

At this point, I just don't care about corals..

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spedly · #10 09-25-2017, 09:51 PM

I think about it from time to time. I think the amount of money I have put into this hobby is what keeps me in it.

About 6-7 years ago I had a planted tank running and I accidentally killed everything while travelling due to accidental CO2 overdose. That made me give up planted tanks and try a marine tank instead.