Boat v's Reeftank

t11t5 · 08/08/2007, 01:38 AM

I am thinking of buying a boat. My monthly expenses could be my payment. I am undecided.

Snowboarda42 · 08/08/2007, 02:00 AM

You're on a pretty biased site, so I'm going to predict lots more votes for reeftanks.

Plus boats are pretty seasonal, while I can sit in front of my warm tank in the winter while its snowing...

LukFox · 08/08/2007, 02:07 AM

I have a boat and a tank and I have to say I get a lot more out of my tank than the boat.

Subliminal · 08/08/2007, 06:24 AM

Pfffft!

I love my tank, but spending 6 hours every week in the sun, jumping the wake is pretty much a hard thing to beat, in my opinion.

Get the boat!

RODSREEF · 08/08/2007, 07:13 AM

If pulling out a one hundred dollar bill and flushing it down the toilet doesn't bother you then boating is for you!

B. O. A. T.
Break Out Another Thousand

Boats are a hoot! Go for the Boat! Beware though, you'll start with an 18 footer or smaller and end up with a 36 footer.

Have fun!

lpsluver · 08/08/2007, 07:26 AM

You must have a nice tank if your mo'ly expenses would cover a payment.

Add to that insurance, the upfront cost of all of the other things (life vests, skis, tubing stuff, ski rope or all of the fishing stuff) and the fuel costs. No thanks. I'll stick to the tanks and go out on someone else's boat when I get the urge.

The next best thing to owning a boat is having a friend with a boat.

RODSREEF · 08/08/2007, 07:48 AM

This is an example of what I pay for the pleasure of owning a boat.

Used boat 4000.00 Cheap at the time.
Repairing the hidden problems. 2000.00 - 10,000.00 Feel lucky?
Updating the boat to your liking. 3000.00
Fuel usage for a V8. 12 gals per hour. 4.50 per gal. marina
Slip. you can trailer but it's a P.I.T.A. 288.00 month
Preventive maintanence. 30.00 - 50.00 every couple of months.
Can't put a price on the feeling it gives when you're cruising. it's worth every penny to me.

Still want a boat? Mines a 24 footer. Looking to move up to at least a 32 footer.

If I lived on the East or West coast I'd be in big trouble!

reefkoi · 08/08/2007, 07:58 AM

I bet if you post this on the boat forum you'll get swayed to buy a boat

PrivateJoker64 · 08/08/2007, 08:04 AM

I have both. There's no option in the poll for that.
Nitro 591 / Mercury Optimax 150.
If I had to give up one or the other, the tank would go. Gotta bass fish!

ACBlinky · 08/08/2007, 08:50 AM

When I was a teenager I had a friend with a fairly big boat (I believe it slept six). I would go fishing with the family on weekends, and learned a lot about fish, lakes and nature in general during that time. I had one of the best night's sleep I've ever had on that boat - I slept like a baby, with the waves gently rocking me all night long. 17 years later, I'm still searching for the mattress that comes even close.

My hubby and I aren't in a position to buy a boat any time soon, but we're moving in a few weeks to a city with a beautiful river, lift locks, and a big boating community. Good thing we have a friend with a boat! I'm hoping we can share some time with our buddy and his wife, enjoying the water (eventually I'm sure we'll get our own boat, it's inevitable).

Yes, boats are expensive, then again so are our tanks. If you already have a reef, I say go for the boat. If you can only have one, much as I like boating I'm going to have to vote reef.

Just think: if you lived in the tropics, you could take your boat out to visit a reef and have the best of both worlds!

t11t5 · 08/08/2007, 09:06 AM

Im not looking to buy a cheap boat. I had one of them for 3 years it was 25'. I am going 2 years old or newer. I will still have warrenty. I have been looking and asking questions. Im just not sure if I would want a reef and a boat. My electric bill was $65 now its $221. It takes alot of space. I know boats are biggerbut, they are outside.

ruiny · 08/08/2007, 09:15 AM

Well a boat is great help to your first interest

t11t5 · 08/08/2007, 09:17 AM

SOLD.

Der_Iron_Chef · 08/08/2007, 09:22 AM

That would be a tough call for me. Ultimately it would depend on the awesomeness of my reef tank

Reefbox · 08/08/2007, 09:32 AM

Get both. I have both. You can buy a sweet nice, used boat for a steal. Actually I would never buy a new boat again. People buy them and dont use them and u can pick one up cheap.

as a matter of fact I'm off to boating on the lake right now.

U know what they say about boats is:
"the best two days of owning a boat is the day u buy it and the day u sell it"

Puffdragon · 08/08/2007, 10:58 AM

Ranger Fish & Ski for the warm weekends and a 120 plus 65 gallon pieces of the ocean. Gotta have both when you are a sea goat.

Subliminal · 08/08/2007, 11:36 AM

You could downgrade your tank to a nano with some t5 lighting, take your favorite corals and stick in there, and you'd probably never even notice it on your monthly electric bill, get a boat, and have both!

b.branscombe · 08/08/2007, 11:45 AM

Tough call. If I lived on a lake I would definitely go for a reef tank. However, if I lived in a tropical area near the ocean I would go for the boat. Scuba diving in the tropics is just too much fun.

DW62 · 08/08/2007, 11:55 AM

I have both. My boat is a 22' Bennington Pontoon. My reef tank is 75 Gallons. If I had to give up one.....anybody want to buy a pontoon?

greenmonkey51 · 08/08/2007, 12:01 PM

Get a big waverrunner. You can get a nice used one cheap and there a lot more fun than a boat.

Scissorhand · 08/08/2007, 12:12 PM

So what's the verdict here?

an411 · 08/08/2007, 12:24 PM

I have both and I would be getting rid of my tank before I sold the boat? Boat = fun with friends and family.

Tank = fun for me and anyone else who cares

Kannin · 08/08/2007, 01:00 PM

I take 2 vacations a summer and take my boat into the San Juan Islands. Plus the weekends on the lake. When I am on my boat... there is no place I'd rather be. But, I get enjoyment from my reef every single day. Tough call! Fortunately... I don't have to choose.

HDAlien · 08/08/2007, 01:19 PM

I voted for the reef tank, but I will say this: I'd go for the boat and SCUBA lessons if you live at or south of Marathon Key Florida!

kysard1 · 08/08/2007, 04:53 PM

After 12 years of boating I sold my last boat a couple months ago and decided to set up a reef tank again.

Boat Negatives:
1. crowds on the weekends
2. maintenance cost and time
3. gas price
4. high initial investment
5. can only enjoy it mabey 12 hrs a month if you are lucky
6. during winter it is useless
7. can't buy cheap reliable 2-stroke outboards anymore
8. need an expensive truck to tow
9. long drives to boat launch
10. space in your driveway, or slip fees
11. kids get sea-sick

A negative for a reef tank is the terrible resale if you have to move, I found boats have pretty good resale. Also the electric bill for a reef tank is a negative, but you can be smart about it.

A reef tank can be enjoyed every day.

View Poll Results: What would you rather have?
Boat	37	33.64%
Reeftank	73	66.36%
Voters: 110. You may not vote on this poll

08/08/2007, 01:38 AM	#1
t11t5 I love Bass Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,847	Boat v's Reeftank I am thinking of buying a boat. My monthly expenses could be my payment. I am undecided.

08/08/2007, 02:00 AM	#2
Snowboarda42 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Warshington Posts: 1,094	You're on a pretty biased site, so I'm going to predict lots more votes for reeftanks. Plus boats are pretty seasonal, while I can sit in front of my warm tank in the winter while its snowing... __________________ 40B Mixed Reef 100% Captive Grown Corals See, that's the trouble with the world today. Not enough danger to kill off stupid people before they get old enough to breed. Bring back lawn darts! -PrivateJoker64 Current Tank Info: 40B, 20L Sump/Fuge, Mag 9.5 Return, 2x Hydor Koralia #2's, 150W 14K HQI, 139W T-5, Euro-Reef RS-80P Mesh Modded, 40LB LR, 80LB LS, 54x Turnover, Mostly SPS, Some Softys Too.

08/08/2007, 07:26 AM	#6
lpsluver Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: OH Posts: 1,130	You must have a nice tank if your mo'ly expenses would cover a payment. Add to that insurance, the upfront cost of all of the other things (life vests, skis, tubing stuff, ski rope or all of the fishing stuff) and the fuel costs. No thanks. I'll stick to the tanks and go out on someone else's boat when I get the urge. The next best thing to owning a boat is having a friend with a boat. __________________ - Bob Current Tank Info: What tank?

08/08/2007, 07:48 AM	#7
RODSREEF Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: GILBERT AZ Posts: 163	Boat or Reef This is an example of what I pay for the pleasure of owning a boat. Used boat 4000.00 Cheap at the time. Repairing the hidden problems. 2000.00 - 10,000.00 Feel lucky? Updating the boat to your liking. 3000.00 Fuel usage for a V8. 12 gals per hour. 4.50 per gal. marina Slip. you can trailer but it's a P.I.T.A. 288.00 month Preventive maintanence. 30.00 - 50.00 every couple of months. Can't put a price on the feeling it gives when you're cruising. it's worth every penny to me. Still want a boat? Mines a 24 footer. Looking to move up to at least a 32 footer. If I lived on the East or West coast I'd be in big trouble!

08/08/2007, 02:07 AM	#3
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	I have a boat and a tank and I have to say I get a lot more out of my tank than the boat.

08/08/2007, 06:24 AM	#4
Subliminal Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 322	Pfffft! I love my tank, but spending 6 hours every week in the sun, jumping the wake is pretty much a hard thing to beat, in my opinion. Get the boat!

08/08/2007, 07:13 AM	#5
RODSREEF Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: GILBERT AZ Posts: 163	If pulling out a one hundred dollar bill and flushing it down the toilet doesn't bother you then boating is for you! B. O. A. T. Break Out Another Thousand Boats are a hoot! Go for the Boat! Beware though, you'll start with an 18 footer or smaller and end up with a 36 footer. Have fun!

08/08/2007, 07:58 AM	#8
reefkoi Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 3,983	I bet if you post this on the boat forum you'll get swayed to buy a boat __________________ 1Kw bulb club Current Tank Info: A 600gal. on Zeovit & a 240gal.

08/08/2007, 08:04 AM	#9
PrivateJoker64 Moved On Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 1,145	I have both. There's no option in the poll for that. Nitro 591 / Mercury Optimax 150. If I had to give up one or the other, the tank would go. Gotta bass fish!

08/08/2007, 08:50 AM	#10
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	When I was a teenager I had a friend with a fairly big boat (I believe it slept six). I would go fishing with the family on weekends, and learned a lot about fish, lakes and nature in general during that time. I had one of the best night's sleep I've ever had on that boat - I slept like a baby, with the waves gently rocking me all night long. 17 years later, I'm still searching for the mattress that comes even close. My hubby and I aren't in a position to buy a boat any time soon, but we're moving in a few weeks to a city with a beautiful river, lift locks, and a big boating community. Good thing we have a friend with a boat! I'm hoping we can share some time with our buddy and his wife, enjoying the water (eventually I'm sure we'll get our own boat, it's inevitable). Yes, boats are expensive, then again so are our tanks. If you already have a reef, I say go for the boat. If you can only have one, much as I like boating I'm going to have to vote reef. Just think: if you lived in the tropics, you could take your boat out to visit a reef and have the best of both worlds! __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

08/08/2007, 09:06 AM	#11
t11t5 I love Bass Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,847	Im not looking to buy a cheap boat. I had one of them for 3 years it was 25'. I am going 2 years old or newer. I will still have warrenty. I have been looking and asking questions. Im just not sure if I would want a reef and a boat. My electric bill was $65 now its $221. It takes alot of space. I know boats are biggerbut, they are outside.

08/08/2007, 09:15 AM	#12
ruiny Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 536	Well a boat is great help to your first interest __________________ Go Sens Go Current Tank Info: 93 mixed reef

08/08/2007, 09:17 AM	#13
t11t5 I love Bass Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,847	SOLD.

08/08/2007, 09:22 AM	#14
Der_Iron_Chef Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Calgary, AB, Canada Posts: 841	That would be a tough call for me. Ultimately it would depend on the awesomeness of my reef tank

08/08/2007, 09:32 AM	#15
Reefbox Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Butler, PA Posts: 1,045	Get both. I have both. You can buy a sweet nice, used boat for a steal. Actually I would never buy a new boat again. People buy them and dont use them and u can pick one up cheap. as a matter of fact I'm off to boating on the lake right now. U know what they say about boats is: "the best two days of owning a boat is the day u buy it and the day u sell it" __________________ Jason

08/08/2007, 10:58 AM	#16
Puffdragon Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 297	Ranger Fish & Ski for the warm weekends and a 120 plus 65 gallon pieces of the ocean. Gotta have both when you are a sea goat. __________________ The definition of an expert "Someone who has done something for so long that they can not see a new way to do things." Current Tank Info: 350 gallon mixed reef system

08/08/2007, 11:36 AM	#17
Subliminal Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 322	You could downgrade your tank to a nano with some t5 lighting, take your favorite corals and stick in there, and you'd probably never even notice it on your monthly electric bill, get a boat, and have both!

08/08/2007, 11:45 AM	#18
b.branscombe Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 407	Tough call. If I lived on a lake I would definitely go for a reef tank. However, if I lived in a tropical area near the ocean I would go for the boat. Scuba diving in the tropics is just too much fun.

08/08/2007, 11:55 AM	#19
DW62 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 58	I have both. My boat is a 22' Bennington Pontoon. My reef tank is 75 Gallons. If I had to give up one.....anybody want to buy a pontoon? __________________ something fishy going on around here.... Current Tank Info: 75g reef, 12g nano

08/08/2007, 12:01 PM	#20
greenmonkey51 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,092	Get a big waverrunner. You can get a nice used one cheap and there a lot more fun than a boat.

08/08/2007, 12:12 PM	#21
Scissorhand Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pho 54, SoCal Posts: 3,066	So what's the verdict here?

08/08/2007, 12:24 PM	#22
an411 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Derby CT Posts: 2,861	I have both and I would be getting rid of my tank before I sold the boat? Boat = fun with friends and family. Tank = fun for me and anyone else who cares

08/08/2007, 01:00 PM	#23
Kannin Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fall City, WA Posts: 1,538	I take 2 vacations a summer and take my boat into the San Juan Islands. Plus the weekends on the lake. When I am on my boat... there is no place I'd rather be. But, I get enjoyment from my reef every single day. Tough call! Fortunately... I don't have to choose. __________________ I used to target feed mojanos... until I found out that they weren't baby bubble tips.

08/08/2007, 01:19 PM	#24
HDAlien Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 476	I voted for the reef tank, but I will say this: I'd go for the boat and SCUBA lessons if you live at or south of Marathon Key Florida! __________________ ¡ʞuɐʇ ʎɯ ǝʌo1 ı Current Tank Info: 220 gal. reef

08/08/2007, 04:53 PM	#25
kysard1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SE PA Posts: 827	After 12 years of boating I sold my last boat a couple months ago and decided to set up a reef tank again. Boat Negatives: 1. crowds on the weekends 2. maintenance cost and time 3. gas price 4. high initial investment 5. can only enjoy it mabey 12 hrs a month if you are lucky 6. during winter it is useless 7. can't buy cheap reliable 2-stroke outboards anymore 8. need an expensive truck to tow 9. long drives to boat launch 10. space in your driveway, or slip fees 11. kids get sea-sick A negative for a reef tank is the terrible resale if you have to move, I found boats have pretty good resale. Also the electric bill for a reef tank is a negative, but you can be smart about it. A reef tank can be enjoyed every day.