hahaha, this is the best thread I have read.

My mom thinks I spend to much on my tank, but on a side note she likes to look at all the cool creatures that live in it.

I have to watch my wife. She spends more money than me at the old reef store.

She likes fish tho - I would rather have only corals and clams but hey if i gotta put up with one or two dorie's and Nemo's to make her happy -

HAHAHA this thread is hilarious. I love all you men complain about your wives. The roles are reversed for me. My fiance HATES!! my fish tanks and thinks they are a pointless waste of money. We came to the agreement that when we get married and move in together i will buy no more tanks i will use only what i have. If i want another fish then im gonna have to convert one of my tanks . i dont like the deal.
I have a 100gal ,20gal, 5.5 gal and a few bowls. I still want a 50 or 60gal and maybe a 30gal.

My wife actually likes the tank, we just set up a 20G and so far the total is ~$1000.00. We already had the tank, and am using standard lighting until tomorrow, another $300.00 there. I try to figure out where all the money was spent but I can't for the life of me. At least she doesn't whine about it, she just gets sick of me talking about it or putting my hand in the tank to adjust something.

She'll just have to get used to it.

This thread is so funny And really makes me glad hubby and I have the same love for the tanks. I had SW FO tanks years ago and wanted to get into reefing so last summer I set up a 10 gal nano for hubby's B-day. He was thrilled. lichatha: we've spent over $1000. on our 10 gal in the last year! About 6 weeks ago we purchased a 40 gal established tank w/20 gal sump/fuge. Then about 4 weeks ago a great deal came up on an established 110 gal tank/stand/sump/LS...oh boy! We don't have room for a 110 but we bought it anyway and put it in storage. I did buy a bunch of great corals(not frags) with fiji LR out of the 110 that went into the 10 and 40 gal tanks. The LS out of the 110 was SUPER, it went into our 2 tanks and what a pod/star/worm explosion! I do all the work on the tanks feeding/cleaning/water changes and hubby just enjoys looking at them. He works long hours and OOT a lot so he really gets some relaxation time tank watching when he's home. He knows I spend a lot of $$$ on them but he never asks how much...I'm sure he doesn't want to know because then he wouldn't enjoy them as much *VBG*

My DH is glad I want to set up a Nano reef - he *thinks* it will be cheaper than my koi obsession! *grin* Actually, he really likes my little FO tank - so when I brought up setting up a Nano Reef - he thought it was a good idea! Well, that and he owes me - his 55 gallon FW exploded on me last year ....

my husband really didn't want me to get an aquarium. he fought me for a long time. then he complained about the price and the amount of rock and the color of the sand and couldn't figure out why i needed crabs and snails. but then he picked out the xenia and most of the zoos and the sixline wrasse, he's still begging for a true perc. and he still complains about my aquascaping, directing me to move that there and this here and throw that hermit into the jail. then he pushes me out of the way so he can watch it.

oops, almost forgot, he also bribes me with corals for hours spent at the gym and cleaning the house.

mine likes it around but gets sick of me talking about it constantly. But she gives me good input on what she wants it to look like and stuff.

This is great stuff!!
I am NOT alone!!! Oh what a relief!!
What can we do?

switch partners LMAO

Ever notice an obsession only becomes unhealthy when exposed to other people? :woot: Luckily with fish, I deflect that criticism by going off on a tangent about Ric Flair

Bryant

To keep in me interest to life - yes.

'bout half the noseprints I wipe off the glass are hers...

My ex loved the hobby soooo very much. she even tried to feed my tank chlorox bleach the day she left...that silly girl so willing to help.

xoxo

should have held her head under to let her get a drink of the newly sterilized water.

My wife doesn't like any of my hobbies, but that's okay... I won't watch chick-flix with her.

Oh yeah we both have several tanks. ALways gives us something to talk about.

Nope, but he has an equally expensive music recording hobby so he can't complain.

My wife definitely support me in my expensive hobby. At first I thought I'll just spend few hundreds since I already have the tank and other paraphernalias in it. But it turned out to be more than just a hundred, but a load of hundreds. I even tried hiding my expenses from her but she would noticed the addition in the tank easily. Anyway before I buy things for the tank I'll discuss it with her first, have to get her opinion, making her part of the decision in he purchase.

She enjoys looking at it and easily get excited if I point to her the growing shrooms. Everytime I ask her if she's feeling bad about my spending all she would say is "as long as we have the budget, why not. anyway I'm happy you're enjoying your tank and of course I like it too".

I think the only she hates, me always talking about the tank and my plans. She's afraid also that one of this day I'll buy a bigger tank. lol

You will, its just a matter of time. I'm on my 4th.

-Mike

I'm pretty sure my wife is a little jealous of my tanks. Actually, I know she is . She says that if we ever separate, she's busting my favorite tank on her way out

I've got my Bachelors in Biology and cared for several marine and freshwater tanks during my years at college. While I was working for my Masters I met my wife and she soon learned of my obsession with critters. I did educational shows for children with exotic animals at the time and just had a FW tank with a pair of huge Jaguar Cichlids. I'm in the Army now living in GA with her and the baby and we found a good deal on a 55 so I started my first personal reef. The reefs I cared for at school were huge so its fairly easy for me to do my own, just expensive. She actually listens to all my ranting and enjoys our trips to the LFS...still hates the reptile room though, we're working on that. She watches the tank while rocking and feeding the baby and my daughter Milana absolutely loves all the bright colors. My wife even found her own obsession and is dying for a golden boxer shrimp. Now if the LFS would just get another one in I'd be good to go. Newest addition...nice lil purple gorgonian.

Yep, she sure does, I think she might like them more than I do. It is expensive though cause I go to the LFS just to look and she says "wouldent this look cool" Then I say yeah and next thing you know, oooops we did it again. Oh well we have two tanks now and she is dreaming of getting the big 113 gal set up when we get to cold lake in march. I am very glad she is as crazy about fish as me. We have had some heated areguments over problems in the tanks and what to do but over all we work it out. Simple answer, yes!

Cf_18driver

My wife doesn't get it. But, that's OK, she has interests I don't get. One good sign is that I've been talking about converting my 60 FW to a reef tank, she's worried about what's gonna happen to my FW livestock. Can you say, "new tank"?

My wife likes the finished product. She loves to watch the fish but would never have her own.

My wife likes to look at the tank, that's it though. If I ask her to do anything with the tank she starts telling me that it is not her tank and she doesn't like it because it takes up space and it cost money. I just tell her that she is crazy and that she cannot go buy anymore shoes or purses because they take up space and cost money. She ussually stops when I start in on her shoes and purses.

When I asked him the other day if he ever thought I'd have a tank I with which I was TRULY happy (because I'm in the process of building 2 tanks now), he said no. And then he sighed. He seems to understand my addiction and is patient with it, but he doesn't share it.

Nope, but he has an equally expensive music hobby so we co-exist well with our expenses!

Megan

my girlfriend sees my tank as competition.

My wife is interested in the tank and loves to watch the interactions between the different tank inhabitants. She enjoys it enough for me to incorporate a large aquarium as a design feature in our basement that I am currently finishing. She also finds the biology and chemistry interesting. She loves that it brings me the pleasure that it does as well. She even does a good job pretending to look interested and not yawning right in my face when I discuss with her the difference between a regular venturi skimmer and one that uses a needle wheel, our start trying to explain how intensity, Kelvin, lux and par, watts, etc. factor into lighting. But, all that being said, she would not set up and maintain one on her own, which is the only way I have escaped keeping seahorses to date!!!!

Prof

We keep our monies separated, so as long as I am keeping up with my monthly contributions to the household expenses, reefing costs are my business. Wifey likes the tank; as so many others have said, she would never have one of her own, but she likes having one in the house that I am maintaining - she thinks all the varmints are very cool.

The funniest thing, though, is that she says the best part of me having the obsession is that it keeps me out of her hair!

I kept (and still do keep) Various cichlids for the past 3 years, I have a 90 (at my dads house for him) a 55 in my living room, a 40 upstairs, the girlfriend hated them. She didnt think the tanginyikans were bright enough. And the Malawi's were "ehh"

so I finally decieded to dive into salt with a nano reef last month and needless to say $1,000 later with only 2 corals and a CuC she thinks I'm crazy. but on the bright side I think I'm set on equipment for good on this tank.

My gf (of 11 months) has been completely behind me since the start of this... She's even bought stuff for my tank when I was broke... hooray!

My girlfriend thinks its cute, and loves the "fishays" and thinks im too much of a fishay lover, but she supports it ;]

He hates it.

Oh well, I told him if I can't buy anything else for it he isn't getting that Tiffany&Co. ring he's been fawning over for months

My boyfriend thinks it's kind of weird that a girl is so interested in reefkeeping especially since it's so complicated and requires quite a bit of maintenance - I can hardly keep my room clean and I'm very disorganized.

my fiance has always supported my obsessions i.e. racing cars, racing dirtbikes, and my fish problem

we started in the hobby together with one faithful trip to petco looking at a small fish bowl. we've been through the over excited times early in the hobby of over stocking our 1st tank, crashing our first tank, building our first sump , driving 3 hours to buy 1 fish, to buying me frogspawn for christmas

the last 2 years she's been going to school about 4 hours away from me in winnipeg, MB she has her own nano cube dx that i gave to her for her birthday. im jealous becuase she has multiple well stocked fish stores

its kind of nice havin her around sometimes, she makes me think before i go crazy and spend a bunch of money on something

she was brought up in a sled racing family so i think the only thing we dont see eye to eye on is getting her on a bike

oh and if i havent rubbed it in enough she was the captain of her highschool cheerleading squad, models for a few local wedding stores, goes to school to teach proffesional ballet and can do huge smokey burnouts in my race car

i think i got a good one. sorry for all the details

My boyfriend is a gazillionaire. No joke.

got me beat there

i fix cars for a living and she teaches dance wooho!

wait is there such thing as a gazillionaire?

My wife is very supportive of my obsession. She vists the LFS with me and offers opinions on items going into the tank.

my g/f thinks its cute, she better like though cuz she says she is going to major in marine biology.

im gonna get her a pico for her b-day hopefully she will be addicted and love it as much as me

We both enjoy it, however it's usually my job on keeping them clean and so on. I NEVER lie about the price of what things cost, do to he loves to hunt, and we made a deal for what he spends in bow stuff I spend in sw & fw stuff. This keeps things even. I got lots to go since he just spent $800.00 on a new Diamond Black Ice bow.

Mine gets annoyed with my obsession (esp when I came home with my new nano) but then when it's all up and beautiful becomes an expert on fish health and absolutely everything... even reefing... though I have done a ton of research... he knows exactly what he's talking about not reading a thing. He had to remove his desk from where my cichlid tank was because it distracted him too much.

the wifey is pretty down for the cause. she actually purchased my first group of CUC and is looking forward to purchasing newe inhabitants too! Yup I think she's a keeper!

Lucky you... My last GF kept asking why it was that I spent sooo much Time with the tank......... Note the past tense
-pinner

the bf doesnt care so much- he thinks it's cute that "i take care of things" (fish, plants, etc.) and it keeps me out of his hair

my roommate likes to look at it and make suggestions from time to time, but she doesnt get her hands dirty. lol. very supportive of the new 24g being in the living room tho- awesome.

My g/f picks out nice sps colonies, buys them, and takes them home, and even after that, she preps the epoxy sticks and super glue.

She is the best.

My g/f will watch the tank sometimes, point out or call me up at work about irregularities she'll notice, but otherwise she's like "whatever" about the tank. She doesn't like it because she says it gets more attention than she does, and takes up too much money.

bf bought me the tank for my birthday last year.
little did we know that this hobby is expensive!!!

but yea...i take him to lfs instead of the malls now.
he was laughin at me earlier that i am actually spending time on the fourm.

overall, he appreciates my tank and think its good for me to have a hobby.

My girl friend hated my tank and all the time and money i put in to it. But now she has her own nano reef tank and we love going to our LFS on the weekends and going on this website together!