I got out in 2019, debating a comeback...

[CodyRVA]

I got out of the hobby in early 2019, but lately I've really been missing it. I read through my 2 build threads and I was reminded of two things. How awesome this hobby is, but also how expensive and time intensive it can be. I got out of the hobby due to burn out. I had a couple crashes, moved (transported my system myself 4 hours down the highway), and simply started to lose interest. Another issue was moving from a city with a large local following to one with very little. Having a strong local community was all I knew and losing it really killed the vibe overall. Eventually, my system started to suffer so I decided it was time to part ways. I pretty much sold everything. So, if I get back in it will almost be like starting from scratch.

I see many threads similar to this one, got out, getting back in, etc. My primary motivations for getting back in are missing the hobby in general and I have two very small kiddos now who I would love to share the hobby with. No doubt they won't be nearly as interested as I am, attention span and all, but in time that may change.

My primary reasons for avoiding the hobby is cost, time and I live along the east coast. The last hurricane we had of substantial size basically forced me to stay with my system while my then gf, now wife, left with the dogs. If I had not stayed, the system would have died, entirely. Now that we have a family, I can't afford to stay behind, the system would be at the mercy of the elements, aside from some sort of backup, but how reliable can that be and how much will that cost...

Let me know what y'all think.

 

[The_Paradox]

Come back but don’t fall for buying all the bs you don’t really need. If anything use the 500 dollars saved and buy a small pure sine generator.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Don't call it a comeback...

Sounds like maybe a nano tank with a pair of nemo's would be just the thing, you don't have to go monster tank. A pair of clowns with some colourful soft corals would be beautiful and inexpensive and easily entertain some young children.

 

[slowwrx137]

My story is very similar to yours, Had a large and small tank, moved around frequently, and had a great local community/fish stores.

When I moved from Texas to Florida I gave it up and sold everything. It was pretty nice actually, not having to do weekly maintenance/etc. But like you, I had a kid (daughter) and she eventually started showing interest in pictures/videos of my old tanks so I decided to buy a 40g AIO around Christmas 2022 and it's been setup for a little over a year now.

I worry about hurricanes as well being in Florida but have a home generator for power outages. I've thought about some sort of battery backup as well but haven't really dug into it yet since I'm using AI powerheads and the only one I'm familiar with is the Ecotech.

That's my long way of saying its worth a shot if you want to but I would start small so maintenance is pretty easy/not very time consuming. I probably spend an hour a week between feedings and my weekly water change/cleaning. Also, buy a used tank/equipment to save yourself a ton of money over new.

 

[LandLockedJones]

My 3 year old loves my fish. She names them and gets pretty attached.

We have purple, grumpy fish, blue and Justin all named by the toddler haha.

Purple fish was getting bullied by justin and I moved purple to a new tank. She went with me to petco to grab some supplies for it and she told me “I’m just a little sad, I don’t want purple to be sick”

Then when I got home, she asked me to scold Justin for being mean to purple.

Totally worth it for the kids haha

But yeah go with a decent sized aio and don’t worry about high end anything except maybe the itself until the kids get older and you wanna show off your skills haha.

Also worth looking into the diy sections of this forum. Lot of cool stuff people have come up with. 3D printing is also a good move for making your own parts.

A generator is a great idea, just make sure you pick up gas and test to see it run before the storms. Old gas will clog the carburetor. If you are only using it for the tank during hurricane season be sure to drain the gas the gas out of the carb.

But most carbs are easy to maintain if it does clog and are fairly cheap, so if you don’t wanna tear it apart you can just buy a back up carb for emergencies.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

I am just getting back in now after a few years break, am also on the east coast (was in Cali with previous system). Have three kids, smallest is 2.

I am getting back in because though I am worried about the finance and time aspects, I do need something that isnt work or dad related (that includes house projectS) to tinker with, something optional. I want to share the science and fun with the kids. We have a big generator so that is not an issue.

My biggest concern is time. At one point I was spending 30 min to an hour per day and hours on the weekends working on the system. That is impossible now (or at least feels like it). But, I will do my best.

Maybe that is the advise. Stay within your budget, try to automate as much as you can (within your ability), have backup power, and keep it fun. Whatever you do, good luck with the fam

 

[CodyRVA]

Thanks everyone! I have a 30G L Innovative Marine rimless low iron tank still chilling in the box from when I got out of the hobby. I like the idea of an AIO unit, but considering this tank is already drilled with an external overflow, I'm wondering if I should keep it, build a stand and go for it or try to sell this tank and look for an AIO.

Regarding costs, I might do a budget build. I think back to all of the equipment I had when I got out of the hobby and good lord... But, I try to remind myself I didn't acquire all of that in 1 day or even 1 year, it was many years. So, maybe start slow, keep it simple, invest $ where it will count and avoid the fancy gear for now.

It's kind of crazy getting on BRS these days. I get it, they sell the best stuff, but good lord gear is so expensive. Things have changed too. I was a huge T5 fan, but seemingly very few are running bulbs anymore. I already did some quick browsing and it looks like half decent LEDs, return pump, pre-made sump baffles for a 20G L tank sump, etc. are all on Amazon and sure would save me some money.

 

[PocketGoose]

Idk if you can make it happen it a sump I’d go for it. I currently have the 14 peninsula from IM and don’t get me wrong I love it, but I really wish I had a sump to store all the equipment. The tank essentially afro of power wires and dosing lines in the rear chambers…I guess that also depends on what you’re planning to keep. If I had no SPS I’d probably ditch everything but the heater and return lol

 

[CodyRVA]

Idk if you can make it happen it a sump I’d go for it. I currently have the 14 peninsula from IM and don’t get me wrong I love it, but I really wish I had a sump to store all the equipment. The tank essentially afro of power wires and dosing lines in the rear chambers…I guess that also depends on what you’re planning to keep. If I had no SPS I’d probably ditch everything but the heater and return lol

Yea i'm leaning towards a sump. I guess if I stick with my IM 30, which is already drilled with an external overflow, I'll have to go with a sump... or make a frankenstein setup lol. The sump I had on my 80 was a DIY, much more cost effective than a trigger sump. They're nice, don't get me wrong, but good grief...

 

[Katrina71]

If you don't feel compelled to have the latest and greatest, it can be done on a budget. Just keep your goals realistic. I'd go with what you already have. Why not?

 

[LandLockedJones]

Definitely go with what you got the sump is king anyways haha. I was under the impression you were having to shop for a tank as were others I bet.

 

[DIYreefer]

This has always been an expensive hobby but its getting ridiculous these days. I set up a frag tank to grow/sell frag to help offset the expense of the hobby. Short of that, I don't think I would be able to swing the cost of keeping a fairly large (125g) reef tank. Then again, I have big kids... They're FAR more expensive than the little ones. I half jokingly say that when my kids move out I'm gonna buy a Porsche. Between how expensive the two of them are currently, that's really not nearly the stretch that it may seem to be. Teenagers are ridiculously expensive. I don't recommend them, lol. Jk, they're great.

 

[CodyRVA]

Definitely go with what you got the sump is king anyways haha. I was under the impression you were having to shop for a tank as were others I bet.

My fault, yea I have a tank, still in the box. If I proceed, I'll do a DIY stand to save some $.

 

[CodyRVA]

This has always been an expensive hobby but its getting ridiculous these days. I set up a frag tank to grow/sell frag to help offset the expense of the hobby. Short of that, I don't think I would be able to swing the cost of keeping a fairly large (125g) reef tank. Then again, I have big kids... They're FAR more expensive than the little ones. I half jokingly say that when my kids move out I'm gonna buy a Porsche. Between how expensive the two of them are currently, that's really not nearly the stretch that it may seem to be. Teenagers are ridiculously expensive. I don't recommend them, lol. Jk, they're great.

No kidding, we have 2... one is 2.5 and the other is 7 months. Both in childcare, costs as much as our mortgage, insane! I keep going back and forth on a natural reef setup vs a frag tank. I like the frag tank idea, mostly because I can use this little 30G setup to fund a larger tank in the future, but with only 30G it might take a while. Not sure if the kiddos will find the frag setup as appealing as a reef, my gut says go with the reef, but kids are weird lol.

I understand everything is more expensive these days, but shouldn't this equipment that's been out for YEARS come down in price, not go up... I know that's not how it works, but come on man! I digress.

 

[LandLockedJones]

Jeboa return pumps can be found on Amazon. Quiet, very cheap compared to other options and they are controllable.

There is some discussion as to whether or not the cheap control boxes they come with are fire hazards. But it seems to be the older models I see discussed mostly.

Upon reading some of the posts regarding the evidence of their risks, I wasn’t concerned. The worst one sounded like it was just a capacitor exploding in the casing. Not great, but unlikely to start a fire, though it is possible. They described it as a fire cracker and smoke. But all capacitors “can” explode and they are in every device you own.

I can find the post again if you wanna have a look yourself.

I’ve had one for 10 months no issue at all. Just figured it was worth noting. I’m sure others around here have had theirs longer.

Another cost saving piece I have is a reef breeders exo ato.

I will note they act a bit strange, as it seems to run too often imo, but my salinity stays on point. I did have one failure dumping a large volume of ro into the sump. I think it was the filter between my return and skimmer section clogging that caused the problem. I haven’t seen it happen again.

I would definitely prefer the tunze ato for peace of mind, but it’s 3x the cost. The thing has worked so well I bought another, do not like the other one reef breeders sells, but I am sure it has its place as well.

Unfortunately, the reef breeders lights have gone up in price. Still relatively cheaper than comparable models though. I would probably go a little higher quality next time I need a light. But these are still nice.

 

[Gundy]

One thing to consider is buying things used. Here on R2R classifieds and locally, you will be able save a lot of money. You might have to be a little flexible on specific brands but you can definitely save 30-50 percent or more.

 

[rhitee93]

Cost has been hit heavily here, but let's talk about your other con, the time.

If the amount of time it was taking to keep your system going caused some burn-out, then take that lesson to heart as you build back up. Keep things simple.

Another option is to spend a bit more money where a one-time purchase can eliminate weekly chores. Cry once with the wallet rather than every weekend with some chore you just don't like.

 

[CodyRVA]

Jeboa return pumps can be found on Amazon. Quiet, very cheap compared to other options and they are controllable.

There is some discussion as to whether or not the cheap control boxes they come with are fire hazards. But it seems to be the older models I see discussed mostly.

Upon reading some of the posts regarding the evidence of their risks, I wasn’t concerned. The worst one sounded like it was just a capacitor exploding in the casing. Not great, but unlikely to start a fire, though it is possible. They described it as a fire cracker and smoke. But all capacitors “can” explode and they are in every device you own.

I can find the post again if you wanna have a look yourself.

I’ve had one for 10 months no issue at all. Just figured it was worth noting. I’m sure others around here have had theirs longer.

Another cost saving piece I have is a reef breeders exo ato.

I will note they act a bit strange, as it seems to run too often imo, but my salinity stays on point. I did have one failure dumping a large volume of ro into the sump. I think it was the filter between my return and skimmer section clogging that caused the problem. I haven’t seen it happen again.

I would definitely prefer the tunze ato for peace of mind, but it’s 3x the cost. The thing has worked so well I bought another, do not like the other one reef breeders sells, but I am sure it has its place as well.

Unfortunately, the reef breeders lights have gone up in price. Still relatively cheaper than comparable models though. I would probably go a little higher quality next time I need a light. But these are still nice.

Good insight, much appreciated. I've used Jeboa pumps in the past, no issues. I'll probably go with a Jeboa doser depending on further research. I used to have a bubble magus, but again... $$$.

I know lights are the one thing to not cheap out on, same with a skimmer, but good grief! I found some on Amazon that have great reviews, but who knows how great the quality control is.

 

[CodyRVA]

Cost has been hit heavily here, but let's talk about your other con, the time.

If the amount of time it was taking to keep your system going caused some burn-out, then take that lesson to heart as you build back up. Keep things simple.

Another option is to spend a bit more money where a one-time purchase can eliminate weekly chores. Cry once with the wallet rather than every weekend with some chore you just don't like.

Time is indeed another big concern of mine. Before I was very eager to get new coral in the tank, but stressed myself out trying to keep everything happy. If I setup a new system, I'll probably avoid coral for a while or be very specific with what I buy. I'll go very light on softies and ideally stick to slow growing SPS. I had a mixed reef before and it was honestly overwhelming how fast some of my softies and LPS grew, I was constantly trying to groom the tank and had a hard time finding local reefers to buy or even take coral. Happy, healthy, corals are great, but when they grow out of control it can be a headache too. I've also started to do some research on how to sell coral online. I have not sold any livestock on here before, anyone have any experience or insight into it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do whats in your heart. If youre posting this and have considered, you already sort of convinced yourself you want to return and its safe to say , if you leave 3-4 times. Often at some point you return 3-4 times.
Set up a budget and see if what you have in mind meets or exceeds that monthly budget especially with the price of goods and livestock at a high scale.