What made you or people you know get out of the hobby?

[sikpupy]

It looks so nice to have a peice of the ocean in your home. I know it takes a lot of work, but, I see saltwater tanks all over CL, sooo, makes me wonder if this is like playing in quicksand or something, lol????

[Nanook]

There has been a HUGE influx of folks into this hobby. As times get tough, hobbies, especially expensive ones are the first to go.

[Sk8r]

Most people who quit IME quit because they 1) run out of money
2) have a major life change [baby, move, marriage] or 3] are of an impulsive "what, me test?" mentality that buys inappropriate things, doesn't take advice, doesn't take it extremely personally when he loses specimens, and gets his tank into Dead Sea conditions because he'd spend money on a miracle cure but spend no time or sweat learning the nitty-gritty stuff like water balance.

Most that run out of money or have a life change will be back sooner or later. Type three the hobby can do without, and fortunately they usually don't try again---

[stingythingy45]

I've watched folks in this hobby keep UPGRADING.
Then they finaly get that huge tank and those huge electric bills and then they just sell out.Happens all the time.

[sikpupy]

I am going 75, dont have my tank up and already sweating the electric bill, lol. I just love the water and ocean, have my own place so cant really travel and would like to try it. I am also trying to trade a lot of stuff for my setup and think the only expensive thing would be the skimmer. A one time (hopefully) $290 shot for a MSX..... ouch! If i make it with the tank in my drafty mobile home, I may be in for 5 years or so.

[Diatome]

This has always intrigued me as I got into Nano reefs at first and it was amazing how many people would get a tank, fill it with acans and dendros or SPS and have a fortune in the tank and then sell it all and buy a motorcycle or car.

I am seeing more systems go up for sale and no takers. Parting out is the best bet but most don't want to or can't do that.

[serpentman]

It is like quicksand. Once you get sucked in, its easy to get over your head quickly. Most people go two directions. Either they fall in for the long haul or they realize there is more work involved than they thought and bail.

However, I have seen some big time people leave after losing thousands in corals after a tank crash. Most eventually come back though.

[phenom5]

Originally posted by serpentman
It is like quicksand. Once you get sucked in, its easy to get over your head quickly. Most people go two directions. Either they fall in for the long haul or they realize there is more work involved than they thought and bail.

There's lots of reasons people leave...life changes, changes in financial situations, etc. But I think this is a big one. They see a fully setup reef, and want one, but they have no idea about the work that's involved.

[llamart]

Priorities!

For me I will not take down my tank BUT because of a recent child and now having to travel almost 3 months for my job I've changed my care taking method to something way more low maintenance. Until I can focus on it I refuse to purchase any LPS and SPS until I have the ability to care for them in the correct manor. I still have a couple left and my water quality has never been better but I would be too stressed out if I bought something for $100 and then was gone for 2 weeks and couldnt monitor it.

Now my tank is a fine shroom, zoo, clam, leather wonderland.

[stevedola]

Id have to say if your sweating the elec bills and expenses now you might want to reconsider your decision to pursue this hobby.

most the people I see leave have
A) to move B) new baby C) no time B/C of job change
most of which will be back. I really dont deal all to often with the fly by night hobbiest.

[gnarlyswine]

I havent gotten out yet but ive thought about it a few times - reasons being
Expense - upgraded to that bigger tank and theres always something needing bought - seems like the livestock always takes the back seat.
Time - two very energetic dogs (Dalmation and Viszla)and a commute dont leave an awful lot of spare for maintenance.
Parasites , Algae, Bryopsis - sometimes I just wonder if its worth it , you get one under control and along comes another.

[BigJay]

Originally posted by stevedola
Id have to say if your sweating the elec bills and expenses now you might want to reconsider your decision to pursue this hobby.

I find the cost thing isn't too bad if I budget and plan things ahead. I know exactly which chemicals, salt, additives, food, etc that I need. I buy staples in bulk when possible, and plan accordingly.

I'm in this for the long term (hopefully 5+ years). For me it's not a "gotta have it now" hobby. I'm avoiding impulse livestock buys at all costs. I plan on buying one particular kind of fish in the next month, and maybe an anenome a month or two after that.

If I am forced to move long distance I'll likely sell just my livestock, and keep the tank and all equipment.

[chrissreef]

moved to college
went to CA after, then moved back to Tx

so moving has been my driver twice =(

[jeffbrig]

I'm in the process of taking down the 250g tank that I started planning almost 5 years ago. Ultimately, the frustrations of a slow tank crash, and ongoing maintenance chores are what drove my decision. Money really wasn't an issue, although signifcant amounts are spent on eletricity, livestock, and consumables on a large tank.

[DNickell]

Right now, I don't personally know anyone else who has a salt water tank. The people I did know who had them finally gave up for one reason: ALGAE

They could not get it under control, it was ugly when what they wanted was a beautiful tank in their living room, and after months of fighting the algae, only to have one form replaced by another, they gave up.

I've not been coming to Reef Central long--the one discussion board I was getting info from shut down and I sought out another one when I had another algae outbreak I couldn't identify or control with the knowledge I had at the time.

I'm surprised there isn't a forum on Reef Central just for Algae problems.

[Octopus8]

I quit back in 1999 because of a cross country move, having children and the work and expense involved in keeping up a 150g.

I couldn't stand being reef free forever so I set up a 24g Aquapod six months ago. The maintenance is so much easier on my 24g nano. Water changes are small, quick and hassle free. I buy my saltwater(RO/DI) premixed from my LFS once a month. The cost is higher at $250 per year than DIY, but I don't have to deal with measuring and mixing, etc. Sure things can go wrong very quickly, but I learned so much from my 150, that so far the 24 has had fewer problems.

Unlike my 150g I've experienced no nuisance algae problems so far(knock on wood). The 150 was a hair algae farm from the start.

[miwoodar]

Originally posted by Sk8r
Most people who quit IME quit because they 1) run out of money
2) have a major life change [baby, move, marriage] or 3] are of an impulsive "what, me test?" mentality that buys inappropriate things, doesn't take advice, doesn't take it extremely personally when he loses specimens, and gets his tank into Dead Sea conditions because he'd spend money on a miracle cure but spend no time or sweat learning the nitty-gritty stuff like water balance.

Most that run out of money or have a life change will be back sooner or later. Type three the hobby can do without, and fortunately they usually don't try again---

I would have to say Sk8r pretty much nailed the bigs ones IME.

I sold everything when I took a job on the road a few years back. It's nice to be back though.

Money - people don't appreciate the financial burden. It's easy to anticipate the big stuff. The ongoing little stuff probably costs just as much though. Food, fish, corals, additives, test kits, electricity (mine is ~$40/month and I would consider that low for a strongly lit 65 gallon tank). If you have a budget of say, $1000, plan to spend $500 of it on the tank and equipment and the other half on the little stuff to get through the first year. Plan well so you can better resist the urge to constantly upgrade or the costs will go through the roof. I've gone through three skimmers on my current tank - it would have been a lot cheaper to have just bought the right one from the start.

Time - don't underestimate the time committment.

[Kaos]

I can't believe algae hasn't been said more. About once a day you see a thread about algae taking over the tank, the owner has tried everything, and they are giving it one last shot or their quitting. Algae has caused me to quit twice already. But, I never stay away long.

Another big reason would be a tank crash or loss of prized corals for no known reason. I had the latter happen to me when I lost over $500 worth of corals in my little 10gal (everything was going perfectly too). I was so frustrated that I stopped doing mantainence like I should and was in the process of quitting again. Now I'm in a rebuilding stage and things are looking up.

The amount of work involved is also a big contributer. Not just the physical work but all the mental work also. To be successful at this hobby you have to have a good idea of the things going on in your tank. Some knowledge of plumbing, electrical, hydrodynamics, and biology is of great use. The person that is going to be in this for the "long run" will have a good working knowledge of everything mentioned above.

[MrSquid]

My 125g tank leaked late this past Sunday night. I'd say that any sort of leak would easily scare the average Joe away from the hobby. (hit my red house and see the last page of my build thread for the story and pics)

[davocean]

"You love that tank more than me!" has been an issue here, but no GF has made me give it up yet!LOL
I guess I need a GF that is reef friendly.
Of course time and $$ are always a factor w/ many.

[vessxpress1]

Originally posted by DNickell
Right now, I don't personally know anyone else who has a salt water tank. The people I did know who had them finally gave up for one reason: ALGAE

They could not get it under control, it was ugly when what they wanted was a beautiful tank in their living room, and after months of fighting the algae, only to have one form replaced by another, they gave up.

I've not been coming to Reef Central long--the one discussion board I was getting info from shut down and I sought out another one when I had another algae outbreak I couldn't identify or control with the knowledge I had at the time.

I'm surprised there isn't a forum on Reef Central just for Algae problems.

I have also had my battles with algae and months of cooking live rock. I went from cyano, to hair, to bryopsis to now I only have bryopsis growing on a filter and several other types popped up that I'd never seen before. Mainly types of bubble algae.

You've got to have a decent skimmer, carbon, phosphate remover, something for nitrates, dose kalk, have animals that eat it, manually remove it and do plenty of water changes IMO. If it starts getting out of control, I let it go for a while until I just get tired of looking at it. Then I rip everything out, clean, replace and I'm good for a while again.

Most common thing I think is everybody just wants to buy a tank, load it with cool livestock and then not buy any equipment and get too lazy to maintain it.

It's not THAT hard to maintain a tank really. Once in a while I just pick out a Sunday, and that's about all I do for the whole day. Take care of the tank. Then I can leave it alone for a while. Most people have more time than they think. They just get tired of doing maintenance and don't feel like messing with it.

Main thing is, is to decide how high or low tech you want to do this. I'm not that high tech yet I still have thousands in my small tank over the years.

There's no point in trying to kid yourself about what it costs to be in the hobby. Especially the initial purchasing of all the rock, food, chemicals, tests, and equipment. The electricity cost is nothing compared to this stuff.

[ulua56]

Mycobacterium marinum was the final straw, after 13 years in this hobby I contracted this bacterium. Two months on Doxycycline Hyclate I had an adverse reaction to the drug, lost 40% of my hearing in my left ear and have tinitnus ( permanent ringing in the ear) I was on Bactrim for 8 more weeks. I am left with purple bumps the size of marbles from my elbow to my armpit.
I now have a 24 nano, which I Never put my hands into without gloves on.

[greenbean36191]

I don't plan to be gone for good, but for me it was a combination of things. The big one is that I travel too much. Half the time someone else was watching the tank for me, so when I was home I was constantly trying to fix things that went wrong or were neglected while I was away. Sometimes I would only have a weekend or so to fix about 3 months worth of neglect. That got expensive too. Also, when I was home, a lot of times I didn't really feel like spending my free time taking care of the tank after I just spent all day in the lab working on 2 dozen other tanks.

It got to the point where the only time I got to spend looking at the tank was when I was cleaning it. At that point it wasn't much fun anymore and none of the animals were really thriving, so I decided it was time to quit.

[sikpupy]

Lanikai, kahakai nani, aloha no au ia 'oe. A hui hou kakou.

Uhm, thats what I would say!