"Tearing a tank down"

silverlude15

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 4, 2010
78
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0
Hello
Why is it that you hear about some of the most beautiful reef tanks being torn down?

What is the cause of this? Is it due to the cost of the hobby to keep it going or the amount of time needed to keep things going?

It's funny i hear people spending tens of thousands setting up a perfect reef yet they end up "tearing it down"
 

pdandy

Gambusia
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2011
817
22
18
Gretna, Nebraska
Money would be my guess. I've never had saltwater, but I've heard tens of thousands of dollars is pretty common.
 

BigCountry

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 6, 2009
726
0
0
Charlotte, NC
Time and burnout (lack of motivation) for sure. Once you get a tank setup, stocked and running, the money really does not become an issue, it's time (maintenance) at that point. Over the years the exact same setup can get boring (burnout).

For example, I just switched to fish only salt due to boredom with fresh. On the other hand, my neighbor down the street is now wanting to switch from reef to the fish only fresh setup I sorta had. We laugh about it at neighborhood poker...
haha
:D
 

nonstophoops

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 4, 2009
1,465
0
0
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I agree somewhat that most of the cost is gone, but it still isn't exactly cheap to run reef tanks. It isn't too hard to push 100 bucks a month in electricity plus salt, food, additives, reactor media, bulbs, etc. That's a couple grand a year in upkeep costs. I am assuming a 4-6 foot tank.

So if you don't enjoy it anymore and it is costing you that much, I can easily see people getting rid of their tanks.

Plus people's lives change. They move to a different house, have kids, new job, etc. which can change their ability to have a tank.
 

jworth

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 9, 2008
3,287
3
36
Indianapolis
loss or change of interest. I for one have considered tearing mine down and selling everything to buy a boat... likely wont and just wait til my mower and truck are paid off :)
 

goat585

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
I would say both time and money. My large reef costs $150+ a month to run and at least 4-5 hours of work a week
 
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