Is Reef Keeping bitter Sweet?

I just don't think the bitter part should be as prominent, maybe semi-sweet.

 

In order to reef-keep and enjoy it, you need two things only:

1. Patience
2. Money.

With these two things you wont run into any problem that you can't take care of.

Patience will save you money, and a lot of trouble. Something that I found very hard to exercise when I first began. I killed a lot of fish, wasted a ton of money as well. If I could go back, I'd definitely do it differently, which says a lot, seeing as my entire life, patience is something I've always been incapable of practicing.

Money is the second necessity to enjoy this hobby, cause everything is unnecessarily expensive. Almost every piece of equipment is subject to gouging and outrageous prices. It's the nature of the hobby, and sadly so. Lacking money will sting you in almost every aspect. Again, from my personal experience, being a New Yorker, with a pretty lame job in *this* economy, it's been very difficult and I've stacked up some bills that I really did not need and I'm still paying for it, both literally and figuratively.

Patience and Money both intertwine in many different ways, If I practiced more patience, did more research I would have saved myself a lot of costly mistakes.

As for the hobby and it's effect/result, there are many positives to be had, and in my eyes they outweigh the negatives, so much so that I would say it doesn't count as a bittersweet experience.

There is a lot to learn, and experience to be gained. I've learned a lot of chemistry, physics, carpentry, plumbing, biology, just from being in this hobby for a little under two years. One of the main positives is the sense of accomplishment. You go from a bare box of glass, toss some sand in there, some water, a couple fish, in a year you have a full blown ecosystem. Microscopic bacteria to pods to fish to corals, anemones, crustaceans, etc.

All this stuff grows and thrives and you can't help but feel proud. Bittersweet? It can be. That really depends on how you handled it.

 

i want to have a reeef as a house but im having an issue breathing under water

 

dude. Bittersweet is just a figure of speech. Doesnt mean Im bitter about reefkeeping. more of a strenuos joy.

 

it is definitely like an addiction to get more and more but it is always rewarding and even if a tragedy of the tank occurs there is always something to look forward to and that is what i love about it the most i think!!

 

I feel the same way sometimes,it's never enough,i want more and more,however my wallet doesn't allow it.I'd love to move up to a bigger tank and it's not gonna happen anytime soon.But that's when i sit back and truly appreciate what i do have.My own little slice of the ocean.