Hobbies?

[VaBusa]

...and some more for the picture "chimps"  

[VaBusa]

...some coral...

[VaBusa]

...live sponge...

[VaBusa]

...more coral...and a fish darting past...bored yet?

[VaBusa]

...and one with just live rock showing the bottom door in place so you don't see all the inner workings!

[VaBusa]

Bad news...many of those pics were taken a year ago...since then, I've had my corals poisoned by a cracked mercury thermometer, had a bad "house painting" incident that demolished fish, corals, snails...and then there was the "renegade crab" incident that took the lives of many expensive, algae eating snails and turned my tank upside down...it's been a roller coaster year with the reef tank, but it's slowly making a recovery...my wallet's not, but the tank is!  

[Belegnole]

Sorry to hear about the mercury poisoning VA. I used to have a couple of tanks and know how much time can go into them.
As for my hobbies...hmm....I second the is work a hobby line. I am a Goldsmith by day, a hobby that turned into a job. Other things I enjoy are computer games ...yup I'm a junky play in a online league. Paintball when I have the time, and playing with my daughter....Oh, lets see I'm into herps...have a ball python right now, and I ski....darn shorter list than I thought it would be....lol


PS disc golf

[jwcfbd]

Seems we've got a few "shudder bugs" on the board...what else (aside from the Busa) do you guys/gals do for fun (keep it clean!)  

I have a 120 gallon reef tank...live coral, tons of inverts hiding in live rock...colorful fish...it's a huge hobby...and keeps me busy.  I've learned lots of things the hard way with my tank in recent years, but I still maintain it and keep adding to it...

...guess this board is becoming a bit of a hobby?!  

Let me start off with a question. I would like to start a reef tank like the one you have. Would you do it again or stick with gold fish? I know that they are a pain to get started and require a lot of work to keep it going but just how bad is it?

Now for me. SCUBA, fishing, boating, my 67 Firebird, and lets not forget the Busa.

[Sane_man]

Nice tank.

I had a co-worker who I worked with on an out-of-state projectt, who had a reef tank. He had to go home every weekend to change out the water and do some other stuff to it. That seemed like to much work for me.

[Big O]

Cooking. Supposedly I'm pretty good at it.

And I'm a goalie on an ice hockey team.

[Revlis]

For S7R4NGER...
Where it all began...extreme set up of the 120 gallon beast!

OK VA, When you get down here in November (if your still coming) My Wife and I will certainly get you to the aquarium. There are much bigger and better aquariums around for sure but the Florida Aquarium is a good size and they have some really cool critters...
Hey, best part is we're members so it's free!! Will also give you a chane to see downtown Tampa... Oh and the membership allows four so if you want to bring someone along that shouldn't be a problem...

[VaBusa]

Let me start off with a question.  I would like to start a reef tank like the one you have.  Would you do it again or stick with gold fish?  I know that they are a pain to get started and require a lot of work to keep it going but just how bad is it?

jw -

I wouldn't go back to any other kind of tank after having this one, but it can be a complete nightmare...it is expensive to maintain (replacing metal halide and compact lights every year, new filters for the sump every year, 80 lb bags of salt every two months or so, coral's expensive, fish are expensive, chemicals like calcium and iron are pricey, test kits, special foods for certain types of animals/corals)...

The startup is probably the biggest hurdle (tank, stand, lights are expensive!, live rock if you're going with a reef system is very pricey - I believe I spent $800+ on that pile of rock in the startup pic) and then if you experience problems along the way, that can become quite costly (I know of a woman that lost $15,000 in fish and coral during a snow storm; her generator failed and she lost everything)...

If you decide to do it, the best thing I've learned after so many years of water changes in all kinds of tanks is to set it up like we set this last 120 gallon tank...we had a hole drilled in the bottom right back corner and put in a ball valve. My husband plumbed that valve into our plumping under the house, and when I need to change water (every week), I just open the valve, water empties out, then I close it back up and have replacement salt water pump in from the blue bin under the tank...hauling buckets and hoses for water changes gets old real fast, and then H2O changes tend to be skipped...

Would I do this again? Yeah, I would...it's been fun, even with all the frustrations...and my kids love it...they're becoming my little marine biologists...

The key is to not have problems! That's nearly impossible, but that's when owning and maintaining the tank is a headache...

If you have any questions, just let me know and I'll try to help you out...best advice is to find a very knowledgeable salt water dealer in your area, someone that you trust and that will answer all of your questions without seeming like your bothering him/her...

[VaBusa]

For S7R4NGER...
Where it all began...extreme set up of the 120 gallon beast!

OK VA, When you get down here in November (if your still coming)  My Wife and I will certainly get you to the aquarium.  There are much bigger and better aquariums around for sure but the Florida Aquarium is a good size and they have some really cool critters...
 Hey, best part is we're members so it's free!!  Will also give you a chane to see downtown Tampa...  Oh and the membership allows four so if you want to bring someone along that shouldn't be a problem...  

I'm a huge aquarium fan Keith (for obvious reasons)...I frequent the Baltimore Aquarium when I can; I could spend all day there! If it weren't a 3 hour drive for me, I'd be there every weekend...

I look forward to going to the aquarium with you guys...I meant to say something about it when you first mentioned it, but forgot (blonde thing)...it'll be the highlight of my week!

Oh, and free is GOOD! Don't think I'll tell my boss that there's room for 4 though...I might want a break from him after a few days!

[S7R4NGER]

There is a serious adrenaline rush when that referee starts the fight!!! It's awesome, just like ridin your bike!!!

When I ride my bike, I don't see a heavyweight fighter coming my way, ready to annihilate me.

[S7R4NGER]

That would require me to be one of those "shudder bug" types, and I clearly am not!  

Shudder Bug type... What is that? Don't laugh! My english is better than your portuguese...

Main Entry: shud·der
Pronunciation: 'sh&-d&r
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): shud·dered; shud·der·ing /-d(&-)ri[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English shoddren; akin to Old High German skutten to shake and perhaps to Lithuanian kuteti to shake up
Date: 13th century
1 : to tremble convulsively : SHIVER
2 : QUIVER

Main Entry: shudder
Function: noun
Date: 1607
: an act of shuddering
- shud·dery /-d(&-)rE/ adjective

[S7R4NGER]

Have 2 old Studebakers that my dad and I restored as well as a '69 Dodge Coronet, (I bet the younger folks on here are thinking WTF is a Studebaker !!!).

WTF is a Studebaker?

[S7R4NGER]

And I'm a goalie on an ice hockey team.

That's worst than being inside a cage with a heavyweight fighter ready to annihilate me!

[VaBusa]

I'm dying here!



Someone help S7R4NGER out here...tears in my eyes...

[The Oracle]

ROCK CLIMBING!  Picture attached of me performing my favorite hobby. go here: http://www.virtualinks.com/ to see pics of my woody...  BTW - you need to click on the "My Woody" button on the left-hand side of the page.

Also, I dig: Mountain Biking, Mountaineering (are you noticing a pattern here?), exercise (motto: health, strength, and endurance), paintball, snowboarding, computers, writing, reading, RPGs, boating (my new boat came in yesterday and it is being preped now...  It is a 31' Rinker.  I am trading in my go-fast boat for this cruiser type).

-Vaughn

[Jace]

i like fish but usualy they are cut up and rolled in rice with nori and wassabi ...... hehe