What's your favorite thing about this hobby?

[Virtual Balboa]

It's a new year and here I am reading about reef tanks! So I started thinking what is it I like about this so much, that I'm doing it at this time?! I'd love to hear the reasons people love the hobby! Happy New Year!!

[Xxero]

What's your favorite thing, Virtual Balboa?

It's hard for me to narrow it down to any one thing. What I find odd about myself is that the end result- The aquarium in its completeness: livestock/corals/etc. -is kind of last on the list.

* I like the chemistry: I like the vials, droppers, syringes, little spoons, smoky powders, charts, graphs, and the thought provoking balance needed to keep the little creatures alive and happy.

* I like the assembly: I like glass, cutting glass, sanding glass, drilling glass, sealing glass. I like construction: I like measuring (twice!) and cutting once, I like screws, nails, hammers and saws, and any other tool that I can find an excuse to go out and purchase for the tank. I like plumbing: I like tubing, pvc, fittings, the eternal search at the hardware store for that stupid friggin' 3/4 inch to 1.25 inch adapter, priming, glueing, twisting, turning, delivering, pumps, baffles, heights, calculations, and ratios.

* I like the equipment: I like the innovation and the amazing ability to manufacture an engineered product that replicates some function found in nature. I like powerheads and pumps and valves and thermometers and heaters, fixtures, bulbs, par, spectrum, protein skimmers, algae scrubbers, ultra violet death rays!

* I like the hobbyists. I enjoy the broad community of fellow reefers found here on the internet and in real life. I learn something new about this hobby ten times over every single day, and that learning is passed to me through fellow reefers. I also enjoy the rare occasion that I have some personal experience that I can pass along in hopes of helping someone else resolve a certain issue.

Like I said.....I can't seem to narrow it down to any one thing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :bigeyes:

[A.Astore]

My favorite part is looking at the end result of my bank account balance and then the room starts spinning and when I come back to reality I find myself sobbing in a corner spooning copious amounts of butter pecan ice cream into my face.

Happy New Year!

[Virtual Balboa]

Yeah, I don't even have a big tank and learned quickly to treat money like it's monopoly money or something with this hobby......crazy!...Problem now is that I don't have the space for what I really want. And I want to move so I can get a bigger tank!....Xxero I think you summed it up pretty well. It's an addictive hobby to say the least. And I guess that's what I'm trying to find out...what makes it addictive? Not the caffeine. I keep trying to explain to friends and family that I've been working on this tank. Most freshwater people I've encountered fill a tank with water. Add more fish than should be crammed into a space that size and never think twice. I'm sure that's why they don't really understand...I've been working on this tank!

[insane]

When UPS, FEDEX, DHL and the mail carrier bring new equipment to the door.

[Member No. 1]

When UPS, FEDEX, DHL and the mail carrier bring new equipment to the door.

+ 1 Million

[BlackTip]

When I spent continues 7 hours on new years eve cleaning the sump and equipment, and do a water change, then realize that I am too tired to go out and party.

[billdogg]

* I like the chemistry: I like the vials, droppers, syringes, little spoons, smoky powders, charts, graphs, and the thought provoking balance needed to keep the little creatures alive and happy.

* I like the assembly: I like glass, cutting glass, sanding glass, drilling glass, sealing glass. I like construction: I like measuring (twice!) and cutting once, I like screws, nails, hammers and saws, and any other tool that I can find an excuse to go out and purchase for the tank. I like plumbing: I like tubing, pvc, fittings, the eternal search at the hardware store for that stupid friggin' 3/4 inch to 1.25 inch adapter, priming, glueing, twisting, turning, delivering, pumps, baffles, heights, calculations, and ratios.

* I like the equipment: I like the innovation and the amazing ability to manufacture an engineered product that replicates some function found in nature. I like powerheads and pumps and valves and thermometers and heaters, fixtures, bulbs, par, spectrum, protein skimmers, algae scrubbers, ultra violet death rays!

* I like the hobbyists. I enjoy the broad community of fellow reefers found here on the internet and in real life. I learn something new about this hobby ten times over every single day, and that learning is passed to me through fellow reefers. I also enjoy the rare occasion that I have some personal experience that I can pass along in hopes of helping someone else resolve a certain issue.

Like I said.....I can't seem to narrow it down to any one thing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :bigeyes:

Much like Xxero, I really enjoy the whole process. I like finding new things (both the good and the bad) that I haven't seen before - and I've been at it for going on 30 years.

I enjoy the mental exercise of figuring out what I need for a particular problem and deciding how to best go about taking care of it.

I like the looks of fascination when people come over and spend hours on their own little voyage of discovery. Especially kids. The looks on their faces make it all worthwhile.

I like the fact that my wife, who, 17 years ago when we met, was kind of "Oh - that's nice" but just tolerant of the hobby has become a partner with me in designing the layouts, picking livestock, and even helping with water changes! (Well, I do still have to clean the skimmer myself - you can only expect so much!) She is in to the hobby to the point where she wants her own tank so that she can stock it with the creatures she wants that aren't really compatible with what we have now.

I enjoy helping others learn about the hobby, and I thank RC for providing the opportunity to do so.

The list could continue for quite awhile........

[laga77]

Watching the fish and corals grow and reproduce. I had my first pair of mated clowns in 1992. I am working on my second pair now.

[Bono]

I like the planning, the construction and constant tweaking of everything almost more than looking at the finished tank. Seems like when everything is running perfect I'm ready to change my lights or skimmer or something.

[C.Eymann]

The king neptune feeling. It is my small ocean, and I controll it all!
I enjoy the beauty of end result, my reef to me is like what a Picasso is to an art collector. Having a thriving growing reef is an achievement.
I also have a nurturing feeling towards it as well that could be similar to having kids.

[tom obrecht]

Planning a new system and doing the plumbing, building the lighting rack, figuring out the sump ect rank high for me. Second would be going to my lfs and deciding what I would like to stock the display with. Third would be showing off the display to friends and neighbors.

[Virtual Balboa]

I'm sure that I can't say it as well as some of the replies I've read but I'll give it a shot. I really enjoy the problem solving aspect of it. Deciding what I'd like to do with the tank and then how I will accomplish it. Going to Lowe's for random parts. Getting new toys in the mail all the time. I really like the feeling of creating a whole ecosystem inside my house. Watching the coral grow and thrive. Seeing the hard work pay off. I like the community here on reef central and how helpful everyone is. I've been a member of other forums not related to reef keeping and its just a different feeling here. I always know I can ask a question and get good thoughtful responses. When I tell people what is required to keep a reef tank they say oh I could never do all that work. I usually explain that for me every time I change water or clean the tank. Really any kind of maintenance that I enjoy it. I know I'm helping keep the tank inhabitants happy and healthy.

[Bent]

I'm a tinkerer. I can't keep my hands still and I'm not someone to just sit and watch tv. I enjoy the equipment and tinkering side more than the actual inhabitants.

[ReefPharmer]

I sometimes go to the beach and grab a handful of sand and watch it run through my fingers. I cannot shake that feeling every time i watch my $$ do that when I go to aquarium stores.

[FirstContact]

I'm a tinkerer. I can't keep my hands still and I'm not someone to just sit and watch tv. I enjoy the equipment and tinkering side more than the actual inhabitants.

+1 building with pvc and the equipment. Nothing like adding new toys for functionality and purpose to the system. Right now, I'm working on plumping water barrels and an ozone set up. Next spring, it will be long over due quarantine tanks. :hammer:

[Ron Reefman]

I enjoy the learning process. And in that process I make new friends to learn from and to teach. I learned structure and stress forces when I built the stand. I learned about t5, MH and leds as well as what the corals needed in the light. I learned more about what goes on inside the tank, refugium, DSB, skimmer and sump and how they compare to what we see when we go snorkeling. I learned a lot about chemistry and how the corals use those chemicals. And I'm still learning.

But in the end, I love keeping more exotic creatures alive, healthy and growing in my glass box. And now I love teaching new hobbyists, snorkelers and beach walkers about the things they see and things they passed right by and didn't see because they didn't know.

[64Ivy]

No one stands over my shoulder constantly telling me I'm doing it wrong.

...even when I am.

[Devaji108]

alot of great reasons here.
for me I have to say the end product. yes i enjoy the chemistry, tinkering, plaining, building and equipment. but in the end I enjoy a nice tank the best. every time I see a nice reef I just cant take my eyes off it... just LOVE the colors, flow , movement and bio diversity of it all.
sure I am curious what under the hood but in the end its the tank that moves me.
after all we are underwater gardeners of colors corals and fascinating animals!

[Reef noob_]

Honestly i absolutely love setting up the tank and figuring out which equipment will and which equipment won't flood my house as well as building everything for the tank so much that the reef itself becomes secondary to all that. But the best feeling in the hobby is when you get a package with new stuff in it, feels like christmas every time!

[dkeller_nc]

I like the chemistry aspect of it since I'm a laboratory scientist and engineer by training, but most of it is the biology. I started off with freshwater when I was a little kid, and keeping marine fish much less corals alive for longer than a couple of weeks was a nearly unattainable goal for even advanced hobbyists.

Now it's possible to keep a nearly inexhaustible list of fascinating creatures alive and even reproducing in a tank. And no matter how advanced a hobbyist you've become, the sea still has creatures in it that pose an extreme challenge, so it will never be possible to get bored.

[kmbyrnes]

Reading and planning, shopping for livestock, testing and maintenance and when it's all done, an adult beverage of choice watching the tank:


http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y476/kmbyrnes1960/350%20butterflies/20160102FOWLR_zpsxzv0kmbd.jpg

[Virtual Balboa]

That's a sharp looking tank you have there! :fish2:

[Pet Detective]

The feeling of pride I get when I look at what I have created & sustained....love the process & always changing results.

[Tweaked]

The friends!

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg485/TweakedS10/3B8BB7D5-7100-4FA0-BAC6-D2CED0D5020B_zpsbaplxomv.jpg (http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/TweakedS10/media/3B8BB7D5-7100-4FA0-BAC6-D2CED0D5020B_zpsbaplxomv.jpg.html)

[dendrite]

the daily amazement when I look at my tank and see the incredible beauty and diversity of a life form evolved over 500 million years ago, survivors of countess geological and astronomical catastrophes and wonder why such exquisite beauty.

[buffalo123]

If you are a DIY person its a great learning tool. You learn alot about water, RO units , DI resins. PH, Phosphate , Nitrates etc... Skimmers, water pumps..
Lighting :LEDs , MH , transformers, dimmers , wiring ....