So many people leaving the hobby.......WHY

[b-ridge]

As I look around our forum and other forums I can't help but notice how many people are leaving out wonderful hobby. Everyday I see someone breaking down, getting out,etc etc. Usually don't see so many breakdowns until about summer time.
I saw pictures of the frag swap and no where near what I've seen in the past. Not a knock on the frag swap just saying. 6-7 vendors? Where was everyone?
Is it really getting that bad? Economy starting to increase. People not realizing what they were getting themselves into? I'm just curious
After all the mishaps and deaths I had early on I should of been out 5-6 times. More and more equipment is coming out so it helps make the hobby easier. Shute there selling alkalinity monitors and dosers with calcium on the way. It doesn't get any easier. Almost plug and play.
I'm just curious to reasons why and even people getting out please comment. Maybe there is something I or we can do as a community to help you stay.

 

[marrone]

It's just the nature call of the hobby, or for that matter any hobby. People get out because they have to move, don't have time, have kids, or are having a kid, have accidents with the tank, or their girlfriend/spouse doesn't want the tank, and not to mention things dying or the tank not being what they want it to be, money issues. Plus people do get bored and decide to do something else.

Actually there were 12 vendors at the swap, a few less than normal but partly this is that we only let in vendors who are vendors on the board to the swap.

 

[fritz]

I wondered too when I came back in. There don't seem to be nearly as many people as when I left. The economy is always part of it. People seem to be running much small tanks now compared to ten years ago or so.

I left the hobby last time because I didn't have the time to baby sit an SPS tank 24-7. This time around I setup the tank so that it would really need minimal input form me. Having a tank that doesn't demand much of me in terms of maintenance should keep me from getting burnt out.

The other big thing that I'm hoping keeps me from getting burnt is I designed the tank with limitations on it. I feel like there's always something you "need" in this hobby. There's always some new piece of equipment you need to fix that one problem you're having. Then everything will be perfect. It never ends and people, at least I, got burnt after awhile. This time around I went with no sump!

Crazy you say? I went with a Tunze skimmer which really takes up less space than an overflow would. It surface skimms which is where all the nasty stuff is anyway. IME its hard to design a sump where you'll be able to skim efficiently. The overflow is arguably the best piece of equipment in our tanks. It skims all the nasty off the surface, all concentrated and then if you have a sump, it mixes it back into the water! It makes no sense. If you have a gravity fed skimmer that can be really great but I was never a fan of the in sump skimmer without being gravity fed.

So I have the Tunze skimmer in a corner and I hid the heater and my other stuff behind that. It all still takes up less space than an overflow and it's all hidden. I got a shipping barrel for cheap that is safe for drinking water. I stashed it in a corner of a closet in the basement. I have my RODI empty in to there with a float switch and I have a five gallon bucket next to it for top off water. I made a PVC hook out of 3/4" pipe to make water changes easier. From start to finish I can change 30 gallons of water in under ten minutes with no drops of water on the floor.

The best for me is that regardless of how tempted I am to run GFO or add some other thing to the tank, I can't. I'm limited. Which long term, I think is better. It forces me to do water changes weekly or bi-weekly and the tank is doing great. I use kalk top off and I'm constantly having to scrape coraline off the glass.

I think if you plan your tank so that you don't NEED to mess with it you'll last longer in the hobby.

 

[theMeat]

Think there's some truth to the saying that every 30 years or so things come back into style. Remember the last time around how big the hobby was, when bio balls was the latest and greatest.
Haven't noticed a decline as of late, and with the aging baby boomers the pet industry is set to have the biggest expansion ever.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I think it may also be the economy. This is an expensive hobby. Plus, I am a bit turned off by the trend of "designer" corals. $1,200 for a fragged mushroom? Really? What is horrible is that it costs the vendors a lot as well!

When someone loses a $1,200 frag they are much more likely to give up on the hobby...

 

[fritz]

Very true. I was amazed at what size "frags" were now. Also every thing has a name. There's no more "zoa" or "orange-ish zoa" no more "Acro sp.". Everything has a turd polish name.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

However, the one thing that really makes me stick around is that we still are mostly some incredible people. I have had the pleasure of helping and being helped by some amazing people. Generous with time and "stuff". How many times haven't we seen a fellow hobbyist have a catastrophe and so many people offer to help that a few have to be turned away!

I think a big part is that times are tough. Even with me, I had several years where my health went downhill and business got bad. I let my tank sit there after a crash without starting over because I just couldn't afford it financially or mentally. BUT- When I decided to start up again several people stepped up and offered frags, etc. This is one of those places where most of us tend to pay it forward.

 

[265]

Its the prices people put on stupid name crap// Dude its a mushroom or a Zoa Etc.. But u people are that stupid to pay the crazy $ they will still try to sell u the junk. I know its RARE or some dumb name to get more $. It all still dies , in all our tanks, Just like frags and u want to watch grow, u spent 20 on a zoa polyp that came off a Huge piece that was bought from a wholesaler or wherever for $25 then they put a name on it , GET the point. Stop buying crazy name crap and it will go away and everyone can afford

 

[lanacane214]

A lot of people leave cause they are to lazy to take care of a tank(that's cool)just be honest no big deal
??

 

[prattreef]

I don't think there is much evidence that the hobby is shrinking or that more people are getting out than we have seen in the past. Look at how many stores have opened in the past year or two. What I think is true is that on-line forums have fallen out of favor and there is a ton more activity on FB etc. Small swaps are also giving way to large national palooza type shows and that has noticeable effects. MR is no different and because we have a robust marketplace, people do come here to sell stuff, so I think it might seem like one thing and it really is something else.

 

[mrdobie]

Everybody makes things more difficult than they should be. A simple weekly water chqnge. Takes me 10 minutes and once a month i do my carbon and gfo. Maybe 30 minutes. I speak to people that spend hours and hours working an there display tanks. Dont get me wrong when it needs it i spend the time and money on my tanks. But rule of thumb that most people forget is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) . You can make your life verry difficult verry quick in this hobby. So imo people over think it, make it harder than it should be. Then get frustrated and give up and then breake it down and sell it off.

 

[rich]

This is a similar threat I was reading last week:
http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-do-so-many-people-leave-the-hobby.225537/

 

[BioMan]

Nobody really leaves,,

 

[oseymour]

I'm seeing people with more tanks than ever. I think with the internet ManhattanReefs, RC, R2R and other forums, people have a place to sell and get rid of equipment instead of holding on to it like before.

Before the advent of eBay or the popularity of these forums, other thank local reef clubs or fellow members you knew personally. - there was no easy way to get rid of equipment you did not want. Now there is a way to expose it to a mass audience.

Me personally I love these sort of going out of the hobby sales - I live for them in the summer. Last June I got 3 Radion G3 Pros for $600, end up flipping them and buying a couple of Radion G4 with a little added cash. The guy contacted me in November wanting to buy them back because he was getting back in.

I got 4 barely used Tunze 6095 for $180, A backup Vectra M1 for $150 dollars, and a years supply of BRS 2 part additives for $20.

 

[vio]

I think it may also be the economy. This is an expensive hobby. Plus, I am a bit turned off by the trend of "designer" corals. $1,200 for a fragged mushroom? Really? What is horrible is that it costs the vendors a lot as well!

When someone loses a $1,200 frag they are much more likely to give up on the hobby...

+1, about economy, hard to find a "great" job, i stop counting when i spend $ 20.000, i lost my tank , i start again , NOT easy, buy NEW tank 300 Gal. 660 Lb. live rocks, new pumps (1" Acrylic thick) new Protein Skimmer, New corals ( Thank You , Tusi, for frags)
I think , is all about $. Life is, more expensive today.

 

[NYreefNoob]

then there are those of us that just dont post much anymore

 

[Koyfam16]

I keep a 5 gallon reef just to stay connected to the hobby.


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[Dre]

All you guys have good arguments but i don't think the hobby is in a decline. Ever so often a thread on this topic come up but i feel an increase if anything. There is an increase of vendors on MR and it has been on the increase for as long as iv'e been on here. That's not a coincidence. It's an interesting hobby that covers a wide range of science, biology and much, much more and the gadgets are endless to make the hobby more interesting. One example is the Blue LED light and LED's. And yes the hobby is getting expensive but that's because people are buying. The old timers have a tendency of keep things simple while the newbies often go high tech driving the hobby forward. Stores close and new ones open, Hobbyist go out and more come in. That's how i see it today.

 

[piranhapat]

Everybody has made good points on some of the reason if hobby is declining or growing. But I have notice at least here on MR. Not many threads and a lot less threading on upgrades. I remember people going bigger and bigger. Now I see more down grades. Maybe location is indicator where hobby might be growing or declining. Here in Westerchester used to be plenty LFS. So I would put location also in the hat. Notice more LFS on the other side of the bridge. Reason cost and nearer to airport. This is a hobby that you have to spend time and money.

 

[Dre]

I think it may also be the economy. This is an expensive hobby. Plus, I am a bit turned off by the trend of "designer" corals. $1,200 for a fragged mushroom? Really? What is horrible is that it costs the vendors a lot as well!

When someone loses a $1,200 frag they are much more likely to give up on the hobby...

If you can dish out $1,200 for a frag, that simply means you can afford to. And who the hell buys ONE frag? No one buys just one frag. And again, the prices are high because people are buying. As for the vendors at the swap, yes they were less vendors but they hold on onto the expensive stuff. The closing door deals aren't as sweet as they use to be. Check on line,, corals sell despite the costs.