What’s The Average Time A New Reefer Stays In The Hobby?

[jaypladook]

Depends on when the wife says "me or the tank".....I going on 40+ years

And we all know what the answer is

 

[AydenLincoln]

If they make it past a year then the turnaround is statistically at least 2-5 years. Making it past a year significantly increases the odds and means they are successful/like it enough to continue/have the means to keep it up and running at least. Of course many may take hiatuses now and then due to life changes and many other factors but most end up coming back to it eventually and then the others never leave lol. And those less than a year or just around there are usually those that failed and never came back or saw true success in the hobby and with their own tanks and all of those people we will never heard about.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

A true reefer never “Gets out.” An average person who checks out the hobby stays as long as they feel good about the hobby. A true reefer lives in the hobby and every thing else is a distraction from it. It doesn’t matter how long folks stay in the hobby, if they left then they probably never were really in it, unless they left in a box.

your gifs always crack me up!

 

[Jimbo327]

Highly depends if they get a bad case of dinos or some nasty nuisance algae. I don't think they make it past 1 year if they do.

There is also the sunk cost fallacy, so I think they will keep going past 1 year because they think about all the money they have already spent on the new tank, but by year 1.5- 2...they will start thinking if all the money and time poured into the tank is worth it.

 

[aztoza]

I think a couple big things is getting discouraged when your tank goes through the ugly stage and underestimating the cost that is associated with this hobby.

We priced this out carefully before starting and I think we’ve spent almost double the estimate (and not on livestock…). I keep hoping the cost will go down once all the kinks with setup are worked out. This year at least it’s definitely like, no vacations…lol

 

[NewReefer23]

We actually do have some good facts about this. It’s less than 12 months. But if we can get someone through those first 12 months, they are extremely likely to go 5+ years.

I have just reached my first year. 3 months ago I got velvet and lost half my fish but refuse to break bring on year 2

 

[Paul B]

I would say about 10 minutes.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

My guess is around 1-2 years. I feel like this is true for a lot of hobbies. I know for rock climbing, I’ve had friends that would be hooked the first year, but after the 1st year or so they would loose interest and sell of their gear

 

[visioned]

We priced this out carefully before starting and I think we’ve spent almost double the estimate (and not on livestock…). I keep hoping the cost will go down once all the kinks with setup are worked out. This year at least it’s definitely like, no vacations…lol

maintaining is the cheap part. the expensive part is the frontload to buy the stuff to get the ball rolling, then the timer starts.

i'm probably spending more on food for 2x cat 2x dog versus what i buy for the tank and annual costs.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

maintaining is the cheap part. the expensive part is the frontload to buy the stuff to get the ball rolling, then the timer starts.

i'm probably spending more on food for 2x cat 2x dog versus what i buy for the tank and annual costs.

I definitely spend more each month on my 2 cats, than stuff for my tank for the same exact reason.

 

[aellis9369]

My tanks came after we had 3 toddlers at once. well 3 under 1 due to twins, they have grown up with the hobby so much so that they wonder where the fish tanks are at when they go to a house without one.

If I was doing this, prior to having kids, I probably would have had to stop, but being in the trenches already for years, and the idea of filling our house with money pit water boxes was my wifes idea, it's been great.

That said, I have no idea how long the average person quits, I could see 7 months because of a lul hitting, or after the one year mark if they have dealt with dinos all their tanks life

keep it up man. My first memory is when my mom got me my first fish tank, a little 5 gallon with a pictus catfish, betta and black moore goldfish. Didn't work at all, but definitely lit the fire that I still have now at 27

 

[Paul B]

double post

 

[aztoza]

maintaining is the cheap part. the expensive part is the frontload to buy the stuff to get the ball rolling, then the timer starts.

i'm probably spending more on food for 2x cat 2x dog versus what i buy for the tank and annual costs.

That’s a relief, just what I needed to hear!

 

[KrisReef]

And we all know what the answer is

"Thanks, it's been fun?"

 

[KrisReef]

your gifs always crack me up!

Excellent. They are just for that purpose, as are many of my sketchy comments. Humor is better than copper and antibiotics for treating reefer's in this hobby.

 

[blecki]

I'm curious how different it is for FW.

Such wildly different beasts. Reef requires constant attention, everything in it is expensive, tons of equipment, thousands of dollars in lights etc etc.

My planted tank in the other room... uh I put some off the shelf, unprocessed topsoil on the bottom, poured sand in it, and filled it up with water. It got a water change two years ago because I moved. Occasionally I remember to feed the fish??

I think it comes down to even a basic reef requiring you to understand reef chemistry, do maintenance, have some equipment, etc, whereas only the most advanced planted tanks compare on the other side - anyone can keep a goldfish in a glass box.

It's a lot easier to stay in a hobby that is less demanding.

 

[vlangel]

I can't speak for other new reefers, I can only speak for myself when I was a new reefer back in the late 90s. So I checked 10+ years.

 

[GARRIGA]

Low pH due to room co2 and later dinos almost made me quit before getting started again. Luckily I've solved both but then I didn't go out and buy a ton of equipment trying to match another and taking my time planning my build so I get it right and reduce the stress associated with failing. Better late than never or worse having buyers remorse. Plus keeping it simple leads to fewer issues along with less tinkering or panic over every little issue.

No clue how long most stay but searching the classifieds might provide a clue to how many exiting at any given time

 

[Sump Crab]

I chose 1-5 years, which is crazy to me as I'm currently in my 20th year in the hobby. I just cannot fathom quitting something like this after only 1 year. I'm in the camp that a lot of ppl would not leave so fast if they chose real ocean liverock to start their tank. The UGLY phase really push a lot of newbies out.

Next question: How many months of reef keeping experience does the person answering your random question on reef2reef have under their belt lol?

I feel like I see so many people answering questions on here who really don't know what they are talking about lol

 

[exnisstech]

Imagine if they all started with real ocean live rock

People are scared of hitchhikers so they use dry rock then when they get the uglies they freak out over that. I think too many just see these sterile colorful tanks online (many of which I have doubts are even up and running for anything more than a video shoot for internet fame) and when it doesn't happen instantly and they find out how much work is really involved that's the begining of the end. I think anyone scared of a worm or algae just doesn't have the personalty to be a reefer. JMO