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

Frogger · #7 09-23-2017, 06:05 AM

If you have been in this hobby long enough you likely have experienced this. I have lost all my fish multiple times, from diseases to a over night power failure. Just 4 month ago I lost 75% of my corals because of a phosphate crash (my own doing). What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, Sometimes we gain great knowledge the hard way.

Skimmer Juice · #8 09-23-2017, 08:02 AM

going on 13 years in the hobby and funny enough the thought has not crossed my mind even once . I could see your dilemma as the feeling of losing anything you have cared for really sucks, it would be a shame to go out on such a low , try and learn from this and level up as a reef keeper from it . Plus you have 1 fish left so not all is lost . Anyways keep your head up I think every reef keeper goes through something like this

iceman86 · #9 09-23-2017, 02:26 PM

I've been at this hobby for 6 years now and I've thought about it a couple times. It's usually when things start dying and you can't figure out why. I'm just recovering from a tank crash that cost me 95% of my corals. Everything from sps that have grown really large over the years to zoas. Other than the money I've put in already and for my passion for the ocean, i think what drives me the most is my stubbornness to be proved that I can maintain a difficult sps system especially since I've done it for years already before. Its still a very unexplored hobby with limited members trying to push the limits at the cost of their livestock, so we are left learning from our mistakes. Couple that with all the different test kits giving you different readings and constantly changing equipment, our livestock are left as the ginea pigs for testing it all out on. Gotta keep pushing forward because it's an awesome feeling to see that you can have an amazingly sophisticated ecosystem at home.

Dearth · #10 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