novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Let's not beat around the bush: it stinks to be unemployed. You're constantly broke, forever on the computer or pounding the pavement in search of that elusive next steady paycheck, and you often lie awake at night wondering how to pay $xxx.xx worth of bills out of a $yy.yy unemployment check.
For those of us in this hobby, it often means breaking down and selling tanks. At the least, it means beating our addiction to new gadgets and livestock for the tank. I had to sit down and decide what I wanted to do when I finally got the axe from my old work. I had three tanks: a nano, a 37g tank, and my 110g baby. I chose to break down the nano and set the other two tanks on autopilot; that is, maintain them with food, water changes, and top off water....but nothing else.
Last Sunday was the old water change day for the big tank. It's the usual routine that most of us go through - I siphoned 15 gallons out, did a little sandbed and live rock vacuuming, and changed out the filter pads. I splurged a little this time and bought a new 65w bulb for the fuge, since it had been growing more red algae than it should have been. When I was done, I sat back and spent a couple hours on the couch enjoying the fruits of my labor: a sparkling pink-white sandbed, active fish cruising around, and my serpent starfish prowling around the back of the rocks, his tentacles reaching and probing the rocks like some miniaturized deep-sea monster.
It occurred to me how much I had been missing from my hobby. I'd let myself get into the technical side, with it's gadgets and gizmos, and I'd forgotten how to really sit back and enjoy the tank. To be certain, I spent time every day looking through the glass....but mainly to check up on each fish, or see if there were any dead spots the powerheads could be reaching - that sort of thing. I rarely just relaxed and took in my little corner of the ocean as a whole. These days I don't have the "luxury" of buying new toys. All I can do - and what I should have been doing all along - is enjoy the tank I have right now. My fish are fine. My few corals don't feel lonely just because they don't have neighbors. In fact, the system as a whole is probably better off since I'm not forever futzing with it. And for once, I'm learning to slow down, relax, and really appreciate all the little critters I have swimming and crawling around in this glass box o' mine.
It's not a silver lining, because like I said: being unemployed is no picnic. But it's definitely a silver thread or two. If any of you read this and see yourselves in this description, I urge you to do the same: stop, sit back, and watch your fish float by!
For those of us in this hobby, it often means breaking down and selling tanks. At the least, it means beating our addiction to new gadgets and livestock for the tank. I had to sit down and decide what I wanted to do when I finally got the axe from my old work. I had three tanks: a nano, a 37g tank, and my 110g baby. I chose to break down the nano and set the other two tanks on autopilot; that is, maintain them with food, water changes, and top off water....but nothing else.
Last Sunday was the old water change day for the big tank. It's the usual routine that most of us go through - I siphoned 15 gallons out, did a little sandbed and live rock vacuuming, and changed out the filter pads. I splurged a little this time and bought a new 65w bulb for the fuge, since it had been growing more red algae than it should have been. When I was done, I sat back and spent a couple hours on the couch enjoying the fruits of my labor: a sparkling pink-white sandbed, active fish cruising around, and my serpent starfish prowling around the back of the rocks, his tentacles reaching and probing the rocks like some miniaturized deep-sea monster.
It occurred to me how much I had been missing from my hobby. I'd let myself get into the technical side, with it's gadgets and gizmos, and I'd forgotten how to really sit back and enjoy the tank. To be certain, I spent time every day looking through the glass....but mainly to check up on each fish, or see if there were any dead spots the powerheads could be reaching - that sort of thing. I rarely just relaxed and took in my little corner of the ocean as a whole. These days I don't have the "luxury" of buying new toys. All I can do - and what I should have been doing all along - is enjoy the tank I have right now. My fish are fine. My few corals don't feel lonely just because they don't have neighbors. In fact, the system as a whole is probably better off since I'm not forever futzing with it. And for once, I'm learning to slow down, relax, and really appreciate all the little critters I have swimming and crawling around in this glass box o' mine.
It's not a silver lining, because like I said: being unemployed is no picnic. But it's definitely a silver thread or two. If any of you read this and see yourselves in this description, I urge you to do the same: stop, sit back, and watch your fish float by!
Good luck Nova, I hope you can find a job.