Getting out

Fmellish
i dont blame you a bit. i was thinking the other day. that if it comes between my children needing things and this hobby im out as well.
i wonder some times if the obssesion of this hobby has even led to a divorce.
i just recently bought a fish again. i have been reluctant on buying things just for that reason.
i have cut back on lighting, powerheads and any other consumption. my tank runs roughly 25 a month and my food is good for a year as we speak.

but again. i totally understand and sometimes a absense of the hobby is good. later on when things change and family situation improves that may be a better time...
good for you thinking of the family first..
 
Good luck to you. I have foun that with so many hobbies, the excitement comes from the wanting part much more than the already haveing part. Its the excitement of hunting for the fish, equipment etc. Once you have it, its not quite the same. And yes, this is a high cost and time consuming hobby to do it right. If you have a young family, that is also another matter. My four kids are all thru college and starting to be independent. Good luck. Its a great deal for 3k.
 
Hey Josh,

Sorry to read this. I've been there too. I'd suggest you consider selling the nice corals and going with a FOWLER. Much cheaper and less work that a reef. Hell, my 120 ran for 4 years with nothing more that RO/DI top off with a float valve. The tang never had to be fed (and it was FAT), it lived on the micro and macro algae growing in the tank. The schrooms and zoas continued to grow and spread. With more fish, all you'd have to do is feed them, and do water changes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8191414#post8191414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by noschmo
Good luck to you. I have foun that with so many hobbies, the excitement comes from the wanting part much more than the already haveing part. Its the excitement of hunting for the fish, equipment etc. Once you have it, its not quite the same. And yes, this is a high cost and time consuming hobby to do it right. If you have a young family, that is also another matter. My four kids are all thru college and starting to be independent. Good luck. Its a great deal for 3k.
Click to expand...

noschmo, you are 100% spot on.

Taking the wife and kids to the fish store and picking out our first fish and first coral represented the defining moment of the hobby. Acquiring new things was extremely exciting, whether it be pumps, or new gadgets or new fish or new corals. But all of that excitement is gone now.

Now I'm left with an, expensive-to-run, time-consuming-to-maintain, responsibility.

My nostalgia for the excitement is what motivated me to purchase the 90 gallon at RAP. But once I got it home I realized I could never set it up. How was I going to afford two tanks when I couldn't afford the one I had?

I actually had a conversation with my wife that centered around withdrawing my daughter from a club so I could use the money to buy new lights. My wife, knowing how important the hobby is to me agreed. It was at that moment I for some reason started thinking correctly. I had a moment of clarity. WHat's more important, my family, or this hobby. The answer is obvious.

Nothing anyone says can change my mind at this point. When all the neighbors took their turns asking, "you spent how much on that box of water?". Guess what, they were in the right. They were correct. Not me.

My family needs some things, and I want to provide them. The tank is getting in the way.

After this process I will most likely be selling the 90 gallon too. It's just sitting in my office with a blanket over it. Still with the backing paper on the acrylic. I never even vaccumed out the acrylic shavings from when Steve drilled the holes.

I think the time to part-out may be soon. I'm going to need more food, phtyo, and B-Ionic soon, and I don't want to put another penny into this hobby at this point. We need new flooring, we need a patio cover, and since about April we've had recurring hospital bills now too.

My family is so cool, to put this into perspective, before I left for work today I was telling my girls I was thinking about getting rid of the tank. My oldest didn't agree, she said we should keep the tank, she liked the fish and corals. Then I told her I was planning on using some of the money to get her a puppy, (she asks for a puppy at least twice a day :) ), and she responded, well ok then, sell the tank, and get me a puppy, but you CAN'T sell MY tank. And of course I realized her tank is the 90g sitting in my office :)

Since our best-friend died in 2003 she has been wanting a puppy. See my avatar.


Cheers
Josh
 
Josh, it's good to see that you're giving up something that you love for one's you love more and it's even better to see how much your wife loves you to let you keep up w/the hobby even at the sacrifice of a few things for the family.

i'm not married and i'm still young so i dont really have that many responsibilities or obligations but i talked to my gf and said if we get married i'd give up the big tank for a few years so we could travel and stuff. she's been very supportive about the hobby as well. Honestly i feel lucky cuz even though i know she doesnt like going into hot/humid fish stores, she does for me.

good luck in all you do and just wanted to say best of luck w/your family.
 
Sorry to see you go Josh. I wish you and your family well. Maybe someday you can make a return to he hobby at a later time.
 
Thanks Greg.

I could see myself trying again maybe after the kids are all grown up and my wife and I have extra money.

For the time being maybe I'll just pickup a beta in a cup at Target. :)
 
I gave up my reef this summer when I moved into my condo. Know what? I'm still relieved. My electric bill is now $11. I don't have to do water changes. I can leave town. Sure occasionally I miss having a reef, but I just live vicariously through the rest of you here on RC. I may do a nano again someday, but for now I like being free :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8193262#post8193262 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefpeep2004
I gave up my reef this summer when I moved into my condo. Know what? I'm still relieved. My electric bill is now $11. I don't have to do water changes. I can leave town. Sure occasionally I miss having a reef, but I just live vicariously through the rest of you here on RC. I may do a nano again someday, but for now I like being free :)
Click to expand...
Kind of like being single?
 
What no takers?

What no takers?

Some pics to entice you. Construction and other stuff. The 150 pounds of live rock is all show pieces IMO. they are all very big, so there are really only a few rocks in my tank, they are all just large.


03122006_013.jpg


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12172005_003.jpg


12242005_002.jpg


01142006_048.jpg


07032006_029.jpg


08072006%20068.jpg


07032006_028.jpg


08072006%20001.jpg


08072006%20002.jpg
 
Thanks Frankysreef. It's just too big. There is no where I can safely put this thing that will be out of the way.

Cheers
Josh
 
I am going to part out. I just took pictures of all the corals, which will be sold first, then the rock, then the fish, then the equipment.

I will start a new thread soon, (sometime between tonight and Sunday night). That new thread will have the details.

Please don't PM me. Just respond in the new thread when it is posted.

Thank you,
Josh
 
hey josh, i'm going to be going to the monterey aquarium tomorrow. I know you said not to PM u or ask u for prices, but i was just wondering how much you were going to sell your tunze 6000 w/magnet and controller for since i won't be able to look at this thread till sunday. Sorry to hear your getting out of the hobby, but I guess it is for the better. why not start a nano?
 
Yinger,

I don't know about the price on the Tunze. I may even choose to not sell it. I'm not sure at this point. There are a few of the drygoods that are simply so expensive I may just shelve them in case I ever decide to get back into the hobby.

For tomorrow the only thiing I'll be posting is coral. So you won't miss anything tomorrow except corals, and then the Liverock maybe next week if all the coral is gone, then maybe fish, then maybe drygoods. So I won't be selling drygoods for a few weeks.

Cheers
Josh
 
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