reef tanks - second job?

snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
hello all,
I was just wondering if anyone else out there felt like maintaining their saltwater tank at home is like having a second job?
Opinions, reviews...
Does your experience make you less stressed or more stressed?
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
a 2nd job no, but deffinetly i need my fix...haha
with haveing a 125DT, i always have my hand in the tank for something. so i am constantly on it. my girl doesnt seem to mind, but there are times when she wants to go to store that i get the "tude".
it does remove stress but when it comes to a problem with the tank, i panic and just over react....hey hey hey addmiting is the 1st step. hahah, but for the most part after digging around for a couple hours the next day is always worth it. especially when you take a day off and actually admire the damn thing. lol......how do you feel?
 
triga22

triga22

Active Member
Not a second job, but it does take some time. Then again everything takes time, even instant coffee.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
at first it was a bit overwhelming but after years putzing around with my tanks there is only ritualistic behaviour, I cant relax unless i do something to my tank. fiddle with this clean that and so on. my Idea of relaxing is a waterchange and a serious frag session.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
I'm finally getting used to it. It's not a 2nd job, but maintaining 2 reefs, QT and now a nano + a FW tank needs some coordinating.
 
drtito

drtito

Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/2770070
at first it was a bit overwhelming but after years putzing around with my tanks there is only ritualistic behaviour, I cant relax unless i do something to my tank. fiddle with this clean that and so on. my Idea of relaxing is a waterchange and a serious frag session.

It has become a bit of a norm for me to do the water change every other weekend. I try to keep my hands out the tank and just let it be. I still dont find it relaxing to to a water changes and perm checks, but I do relax after and enjoy my tank.

God I love this hobby.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Well, SW tanks is the main reason I work (other then some beer money), so it's sort of just an extension of my real job

As far as stressing over your tanks, IME, it sort of depends how long you've been in. At first, your completely lost and worry about everything. Just look at how many threads there are, with people stressing over these little wierd things in there newly setup tank.(copepods usually). Then you sort of get the hang of it and start to think you know everything, like they say I shouldn't put a large angel in a 55gal, but what do they know? Then everything hits the fan, and you realize how little you actually do know. And from then on, it's pretty much a slow raise learning bits and pieces of the hobby.
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
i really think as long as people did their research and learn 'how much work' it is before starting, then after they start and get everything where they want it , the books actually over react to the work it trully takes. I read 20+ books over the course of 2 years and now everything in my tank seems so much easier than i read, since i have gotten into a 'rutine'.
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2770307
As far as stressing over your tanks, IME, it sort of depends how long you've been in. At first, your completely lost and worry about everything. Just look at how many threads there are, with people stressing over these little wierd things in there newly setup tank.(copepods usually). Then you sort of get the hang of it and start to think you know everything, like they say I shouldn't put a large angel in a 55gal, but what do they know? Then everything hits the fan, and you realize how little you actually do know. And from then on, it's pretty much a slow raise learning bits and pieces of the hobby.
very very well put....see it all the time....
 
dragonboy

dragonboy

Active Member
I think its very rewarding when everything in the tank looks great and growing but once something goes wrong or if you didn't keep an eye on things you get very stress. I get stress when something dies in my tank I've lost so many corals but the worst was when 6 of them die at the same time. This hobby has its good and bad but if you track of things its very rewarding.
 
sculpin

sculpin

Member
With any hobby they land in one of these fours sections-
Low Maintenance / Low Yield
Low Maintenance / High Yield
High Maintenance / Low Yield
High Maintenance / High Yield
Really it depends on your perspective but in my meager 8 months in this hobby, I would say it's a High Maintenance / High Yield hobby and breaking even is just fine with me. But if you have been in this hobby for 10 years and have 5+ tanks in your house and your free time is consumed with maintaining and not enjoying it's time to revaluate... and get a life!
Sculpin
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
i look forward to working on my tank. if i could make a living at it, i'd do it. for me none of the things i do to my tank are "work". i feel a sense of relief after i do a large waterchange. i feel good when i know all of my fish and corals have full bellies....

i am having a great time building the tank at the gym. i still can't believe i am going to be paid for it.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Hey - thanks for everyone's input.
Mr. X, that's great about the gym's aquarium. You deserve any money you get off of it. Just remember, never do anything for free or even pay for it.
It can be stressful for people who are just getting into the hobby. I've learned to just take things in stride.
Anyone getting bored with the hobby?
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
what about my time? what do i charge for that? today i went and trained shoulders, which is generally a 30-40 minute workout. i was at the gym for about 1.5 hours. moving the rock around, building an eggcrate stand to prop up the skimmer...what do i charge for this? do i just invoice the guy with hours?
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
did you not make an agreement for how/what you would charge for?? if you are only chrging straight hourly, then yeah, bill him that way.
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
When I switched from FW to SW years ago, yeah, it was consuming and took up a lot of my time, even though I had been keeping FW tanks for 3-4 years before I went SW.
Then again, when I decided to get serious about my SW fishkeeping, clean up the tank, and just take all the time needed to do it right, I was once again consumed by the hobby. Nothing like when I switched to a reef setup and had to REALLY get religious about doing the right things. Now, that I have climbed the seepest paer of the learning curve and am feeling more confident and in control, it's getting back to just a hobby type of thing. I still enjoy it immensely, do something with the tank everyday, but I am not spending so much mental or physical energy on it.
 
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