does your other half hate your hobby?? (tank)

My wife and I are both totally addicted to this hobby. The only difference is that I have patience and she does not (she's getting better though)... she used to fill up tanks faster than I could buy them. It's so bad that we even put off buying groceries until the next week (no kids) just to get the fish or coral that we've been eyeing lol. Our latest project is a 265 gallon that I've told her is off limits to her because she already has a 72 gallon pretty much all to herself. She still drops hints about what "might look cool" in my 265... like the Lyretail Anthias that we're getting today lol.

 

At first she was indifferent, now she wants to pick stuff out and has actually retained a lot of what I have taught her in regards to fish, coral, and equipment.

 

yupp my girlfriend at first hated all the time i spent on my tank and not her! but now that my tank is up and running she loves it! and goes w me to fish stores now

 

My husband likes my tank as long as he does not have to do maintenance on it. The part that he likes is when I have to do plumbing and stuff. He wants me to have a fish room with some nice organize plumbing and electrical, he really likes that part. Me I don't really do plumbing or electrical, I am learning.

 

Some how my wife actually suggested it (I did bring it up many times) She likes it and hates it for these reasons.

Like: Knows it makes me happy
Is relaxing to watch
Hate: The money to do it right - knows I need to spend to do it right.
The cyto break out right after cycle (hates to wait no patients)
The equipment in the tank (did not go with sump)
All I talk about
time it takes away from "US"
The fish hiding for the first two weeks
hates I buy water (RO/RI)
I know once the aquarium has some corals and more fish and cleaned up she will like it more. I have only started (3rd month) and I want to take it slow.

I am sure over time she will appreciate the aquarium - once we get over the first 6 months.

Oh and she does go with me to the LFS all the time - not just because likes the store but also so I don't go crazy LOL

 

My wife hates the time I spend with my tank. Hates that it takes away from "Us" as well. She hates the money factor, constant water disasters (seems to happen pretty regularly), the amount of space needed, the time I spend researching everything before purchasing. She hates how hot and humid most fish stores are. One of her biggest gripes is right when I get home from work I check on my tank. Make sure there are no buried corals, fallen corals, check the sump level, clean the glass. Absolutely hates it. She thinks I love my tank more than her....

But she does to go into a trance relaxing to the tank. Loves watching the fish and coral grow and picking out new additions, likes the sound of the overflow. Pretty much everything visually with the tank, but is not intrigued like I am. I do wish she would be more involved. I can't even get her to feed the fricken fish once a day because the food "stinks". I try to teach her about the plumbing in case of disasters (that always seem to happen) but she just pretends to listen. Then the return chamber gets too low and she calls me at work in a panic and mad. "Why didn't you make sure the tank was good before leaving?!?!?"...."Why do I get stuck dealing with this while your at work?!?!?" Well if you would actually pay attention to how the setup works!

Sucks some of our other halves can't enjoy EVERY aspect of the tanks like we do. Nothing like cleaning out a skimmer cup, or scrubbing algae, or rinsing carbon. Things we live for!

 

The female unit loves my tank. Actually, the first time she ever came over she spent a half hr just looking at the tank and asking all kinds of questions... I knew i was in love at that point Now she uses the lights to keep her tan 8) !!
She is super into the hobby now and loves going to the LFS BUT she gets sad knowing the fish once lived in the ocean So i try to find tank-rasied but its hard as most fish are caught.

 

I fell as though I have the exact same after work routine as yourself Mattheuw1.

 

My wife and I are about the same when it comes to the tank. We love looking but hate spending... We are blessed with a son who stands on his stool in frount of the tank for hours at a time. I think he loves it more than both of us put together. We still love it but she don't put in half the time or work i do to the hobby. She is a really good researcher tho. She always writes EVERYTHING down. I don't write nothing down and she is always correcting me...lol she is prolly why we haven't lost any stock...

 

One of her biggest gripes is right when I get home from work I check on my tank

Mat I know this does bug my wife - but I catch her checking it out too