Do U ever ? $ spent on this hobby?

I used to fly RC airplanes. Dang, now that was some money. I had an elevator linkage pop on one of them and poof -you lose HOURS of work, blood and sweat you put into building it. Broke during a landing (the way the wind was blowing, I had to have it coming in towards me on the runway) and had to roll and stuff it into the ground rather than having it go out of control. Don't want a large model that weighs 20+ pounds with a 6 1/2 foot wingspan doing almost 30 hitting anyone. Close to $1,200 in equipment and parts damaged.

I enjoy watching my fish, especially my maroon - the enjoyment he gets out of caring for his anemone and keeping his area clean makes it 100% worth the money involved to watch, to have my own tiny slice of the ocean in the living room.

 

You have no idea how much I'd love to start talking planes right now.

I had a 3D foam plane for a while before I had to pull the plug, and that thing was amazing. Blenders, Hovering, knife edges, etc etc. Had a Eflite Park 360 motor with a 860 mAh lipo and HS-55 servos in it. I went through three of them, because foamy 3D planes don't last too long. Also had a modded Parkzone Stryker. Flying that thing at wide open throttle was amazing. Bank and yank planes are so fun to fly. I almost finished a scratch built EPP Ultimate bipe before funding ran out. It's still a work in the making. The landing gear is Carbon Fiber rods held together by chicken wire and epoxy in a foam sandwich aka - UNBREAKABLE

 

Ah Kris, I see our conversation from last night was made into a thread!! Here is my view on it... I love the hobby, love the tank, don't love the money spent on it! As most of you have listed this is cheaper than some hobbies, but my problem is I have too many hobbies! I hunt, fish, trap, love working on stuff, golfing, fixing up my house, vacationing, etc. Honestly, the only thing I would give up before the tank would be golfing. I love the tank, but I love some of the other hobbies more.

My wife and I have started to go debt free. The only debt we have to start with is one student loan, a Jeep and the house. We payed off the student loan, hopefully will pay off the Jeep in 4-5 months, and hopefully will pay off the house in 5-7 years. I have been pondering a lot about if I should sell the tank because I am getting ready to order $250 worth of replacement bulbs & RO/DI membranes & filters and the only thing I could think of is the money I would save if I called it quits. I could always start again another day...

Disclaimer: This was more of a rant than anything, I am not close to selling the tank yet, just needed to vent more than anything! Thanks for listening!

 

Very true.. Its is a never ending money pit... Though my tank is only 5.5 gallons, I just spent 225 on a new MH clip on, 40 bucs for a clam, 30 for a heater, the list goes on and on and thats just in the last 3 weeks... Like my wife says its never ending... But its my only hobby, no hunting, fishing, smoking, drinking etc.. So I guess it works out in the long run..

 

I have been keeping fish in general for 17 years. I started at 13 with a small fresh water tank in my bed room. It housed mollys and a betta. With that I grew to 4 fish tanks. In only the last 2 years I have moved to salt water tanks and have been learning much about them. I have herd stories about how hard they were to keep and how much work you have to put into them and how much money you have to spend. Well I also found it is what you make of it. If you have to have the best and nothing else will do then yes you will spend a buck on that. If you find other ways then you can save some too. I put most of my 75 gal system for around $600 ( I like diy) That was 2 months of cigerettes for me. That is one of my justifications for the hobbie.
The other justification is that each and every second that we the hobbiest do our hobbie the knowledge that we learn from it is more valuble then some one spending a buck to save the reefs. The knowledge that we learn can be past on to future hobbiest and even our kids. I would have to say that also that, did we know as much as we do now 20 years ago. I would have to say not. Most of the time I read that 20 years ago you couldn't house most of the animals that we house today. Also I add to that, that we the hobbiest house more and more animals each year. There are many of us that propogate corals and fish too. That in it self has to say something about the health of the planet. Maybe some day a coral that you housed and frag off to someone else could be put back into the ocean to restart a new reef. Maybe we might stumble upon a coral spawn and start to grow hybreads of coral. The possibilitys are endless. I know that this could be saying a lot and might be really far from the truth but that is how I rationalize what I do. We have to do something to save the planet that we destroy on a daily basis.
Some poor broke contractor with a passion for fish could save some thing some day. That is what I have to say. Take it or leave it. Hopefully it helps.

 

Very well put, it is a never ending money pit! I just have a hard time sometimes justifying the money spent. Yes, we can easily afford it but sometimes it just seems silly!!

 

Sounds like you have jumped into something before you knew if you even liked it or not. I've had aquariums since before I got my drivers license, it is something that I found out a long time ago that I enjoy very much. Never been without one since. You spend a heck of a lot more money on your habbits then you would ever spend on a hobby.
It really depends on where your interest are in life. Myself...I like a challenge, can't stand to just sit by with nothing to spark my interest. Guess that is why I have the career I do.

This too will pass, sounds like a mid life crisis coming on to me.......u are getting old you know.

 

At some point in any hobby, career, etc. you will have a period of doubting it. What you should do comes down to a personal choice. Your the only one that can decide whether to keep the 180 because your the only one that can throw all the chips on the table and really look into the pros and cons. No matter what you do, don't look back at the other option. Thats the rule I live by. We all hope you keep the 180. Good luck.

 

I think Kris is just going through a phase like myself right now. He just lost another fish and I have an algae bloom. We were talking last night about how it sucks when you do everything you can to make sure your tank is right then something is still wrong. We're both just frustrated right now, I'm not serious and I don't think he is either, hopefully!

 

My other hobby is Drag Racing.. I know what you are saying. It has nothing to do with regret it's principal. The money that was/is spent on these tanks could put lots of children through college. Woods has a great quote. "Love thy Wife then Thy Pets" If you do your part as a husband, a dad, a friend. You will never find yourself questioning the things you do for yourself..