How often do you feel like throwing in the towel

rogerwilco357

rogerwilco357

Active member
Like the header reads how often do you feel like throwing in the towel on sps or the hobby all together ? For me it seems like two times A year three..today was one of those days with the alk causing issues 3 months ago it was the phosphates ..man maybe it's time ..or time to order the dosers which i did lol .with the phosphates it was the zeovit reactor and other items needed to get that going ..just need to get a larger sump now ...Seems like every event cost me more money ..but one day i will have it all down right? What has you re-thinking this crazy hobby?
 
This is a long term hobby and bailing out after only a few years is reserved for the weak.

My first 5 years were very successful with a mixed tank were SPS did good as well as the easier corals.
The next 5 years were really difficult and I had a hard time keeping SPS so after 10 years in the hobby I reset my tank.
I intend to stay in the hobby for at least another 5 years and hopefully have success with the most delicate corals this time.
Due to my location and lack of resources it's more of an uphill battle than most reefers will encounter, but still I will only use towels to dry my hands.

The ordeal has made me an experienced reefer and it was fun in a way, because some of us are in this for the challenge.
It's in the way of thinking how good we'll do when swimming against the stream because that's something everyone of us has to do occasionally.

There will be more things that go wrong so just deal with it on your way to reach your goals.
If we reach our goals to fast the hobby becomes boring just as fast.
 
rogerwilco357 said:
Like the header reads how often do you feel like throwing in the towel on sps or the hobby all together ? For me it seems like two times A year three..today was one of those days with the alk causing issues 3 months ago it was the phosphates ..man maybe it's time ..or time to order the dosers which i did lol .with the phosphates it was the zeovit reactor and other items needed to get that going ..just need to get a larger sump now ...Seems like every event cost me more money ..but one day i will have it all down right? What has you re-thinking this crazy hobby?
Click to expand...

I think about it every time I flood my house, and every time my favorite SPS colony decides to just die, for no apparent reason.

So, about twice a year.
 
Once... When I found out I hand acro eating flat worms. Never did throw in my towel but I haven't added a new frag to the tank since and the three attempts I've made at adding frags failed cause all the frags died after the 3rd dip! Changed the hobby for me for ever! :-/
 
rogerwilco357 said:
How often do you feel like throwing in the towel
Click to expand...

Throw in the towel? That'll just make a mess, and probably suffocate your favorite coral.

:facepalm:


Can't say I've ever really quit, but there have been the reorganizations, new directions, and paradigm shifts.

Automating your dosing will certainly help level out your water quality.

Good luck.
 
I've never really considered quiting, but I have been very frustrated multiple times. The problem I've had in the past is when I try to do too much with my tank. I did the vodka thing, along with dosing multiple products with little success. I've used bio pellets off and on, etc... Now that I'm working on average 65-70 hours per week I've decidd to go with much more basic methods of keeping a sps tank. I still use BP's, but only a very small amount. My dosing is automated with the exception of aa's, in fact, almost everything is automated. Instead of doing larger, less frequent wc's, I'm doing small (5g) wc's every 3 days or so because it only takes a few minutes to het them done.I pretty much just let the tank do its' thing and honestly, I'm seeing very positive results. I feel I've found a very good balance of what works well for the tank, as well as for me. Sometimes simpler is better...
 
Hi, I never throw in the towel, just bucket loads of cash. Its enjoyment and a challenge all rolled together.
 
If I did throw in the towel, all the money I would be saving would probably pile up so high in my house that it would cause a fire hazard.

So I have to keep going just to be safe. :D
 
I thought about tossing all my SPS today when I found out I had AEFW. Instead I took apart my tank and all my sps are in a QT tank. Sucks!!!
 
on the spot said:
Throw in the towel? That'll just make a mess, and probably suffocate your favorite coral.

:facepalm:
Click to expand...

Was thinking the same thing :rolleyes:

to the op yeah i was thinking of dropping sps a few days ago. Very frustrating hobby it is. Ah well, i was the idiot that bought the tank. It'll get better! just drop sps if you absolutely need to, or have a friend coral sit
 
At least twice a year.
I seem to have gotten to a good place with things in the last two months but before that I was about ready to give up after a trying for months to get my nitrates down with no luck. After trying everything everyone said would drop the nitrates I finally decided to redesign my refugium. If that hadn't worked I would probable still have a tank but not saltwater.
In the last 20 years I've never gone without a tank for more than six months and I think that was only twice.
 
When I lose Acros while the rest of the thrives and looks amazing, its like I'm doing something wrong but doing it right at the same time. Drives me crazy!
 
In over 10years I have never completely given up, but I have gone through a couple of periods where I ignored my tank for year or so. When both my kids were born, the tank took a major back seat, and declined. I remember at one point I didnt even clean the skimmer for over 6 months. I just dumped the 5g skimmer overflow bucket every once in a while.

You really have to possess a PASSION for this hobby, especially to keep SPS thriving. With softies and LPS, you can half a$$ your tank maintenance and still keep the tank going. An SPS tank takes constant vigilance and focus, and a person can burn out easily, especially when kicked in the gut with AEFW or something else.
 
Old tank syndrome is the killer.....avoid this by rescaping and fragging every few years and keep up the water changes = long term success.....
 
once sps moody..they go RTN/STN very fast!!!

Seriously they are the worse living beings on this earth..

A bit of changes also cant accept it ...

Just c how they hardly survive in their own mother nature..

Thats why if got a frag STN

I will dip it into strong acid and let it die instantly
 
If you quit after years in this hobby eventually youll be back. save yourself the wasted time and extra money to reinvest and dont quit. Ive thought about it but I dont think Ill ever get out entirely...its just too much fun and enjoyable and what would I do with all the extra money and all of this otherwise useless reeftank knowledge?

Going on 10 years now...heres to another 10.
 
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