Surviving the seasons of your hobby

[mn_aquascape]

Hello everyone, my name is Steve and I am a long time fish keeper, pretending aquascaper and all around planted tank enthusiast.

For a number of years I maintained a very active feed on Instagram under the user name mn_aquascape. It's still there, and has a ton of information on my experiences in the hobby, but I haven't touched it in more than a year. Over time I found myself chasing some undefined goal... how many likes can I get, how many comments can I generate, how many posts a week? It never ended. On top of that, the IG algorithms seemed odd and I never understood which of my posts were seen by who, and more importantly why I would see certain posts. It became underwhelming and the harder I tried, the more disconnected I began to feel. The pandemic didn't help.

My kids were growing older, we accomplished some other very important life goals, and I decided to downsize my hobby in favor of being with my family. It was fantastic!

Recently, life has returned to a more normal pace, work has settled in, kids are more self sufficient and I find myself getting back into the hobby. In fact, now the kids love it, and they want to be part of it with me!

I'm happy that I kept most of my equipment. I cleaned it up before storage, and tucked everything away nicely. It has been wonderful to pull things out, plug them back in, and get going again quickly. The fish and plants that remained through my "hobby drought" have bounced back nicely and are thriving again under more careful attention.

I can't imagine I am the only hobbiest frustrated with the metaverse/reddit empires of social media platforms. Am I the only one that feels disconnected and frustrated by the oversight imposed by these platforms on hobbiest groups that stiffle the exchange of ideas and livestock and plants? I'm tired of people that hide behind the faceless names on these platforms only popping out to troll others and make inflammatory remarks and comments for kicks and giggles. I'm optimistic community can still exist online and I look forward to the growth of forums such as these.

I am curious, what are some of you doing to survive the seasons of your hobby? And do you look forward to a brighter future in forums like this?

Take care, and see you around!
--Steve

 

[BigWave]

Glad to see you here @mn_aquascape I took a break and didn't touch a tank for well over a year. Not one plant haha. I now have one heavily planted stem tank back up. Almost to challenge myself and show I still got it. Being an admin for a number of Social Media groups I've seen the trend and downward spiral for a few years now. People look and lurk but hardly every post anything anymore. Like they just don't care. I think forums like this new one will get people back to the OG so to speak. Yeah there are many other Planted Tank Forums out there but many are inundated and poluted with advertising, spam and general bad advice.

 

[DDio]

Glad to hear that you're back at it again.

With regard to social media, I'm probably in the minority, but I couldn't care less about it. I think the whole system is set up to give you dopamine hits and keep you addicted to it. I actually don't "like" very many things either, but forums like these are different from that perspective. I think social media like Tik Tok, IG, and FB tend to be very vapid and it's very difficult to wade through who has knowledge and who doesn't.

I could go on and on about social media so I'll just leave it there lol.

The longest period I went without a tank of some sort set up was when I moved last year and broke my last reef tank down at the end of July. I think I made it as far as February or March and very quickly set up a little planted nano.

I go through ebbs and flows of interest. When my interest wanes, I just make sure that I'm keeping up with maintenance so that I'm not dealing with a mess once the interest rekindles. When I was younger my biggest challenge was taking more of an interest in something and wanting to devote my full attention towards it. Reef keeping is a great example. I dipped my toe in with a nano reef, and the next thing you know I'm tearing my planted tank down and running 3 reef tanks. I eventually grew bored with them and one by one they came down except my largest reef tank. For a 3-4 year period all I did was maintenance. The corals grew, were doing great, so I didn't have a need to add anything and I lost interest. The tank was doing great until the day I tore it down.

I've had hobbies where I'm really into them for a few months and then I'm completely done, and others where I'm fully immersed in the hobby for years. Aquariums have always been the one constant though throughout my life.

With regard to forums, their use has been on the decline for several years. I'm hoping that will change but it seems society has changed to want that immediate dopamine hit rather than wanting to develop the type of friendships that many of us are used to having used forums for most of our adult lives. The information you get from others in something like Facebook groups is always suspect, and as you read through many of the responses to questions it seems like the people don't actually have experience but are rather regurgitating information. Forums like these are great because you get to know people and their backgrounds, and see the advice they give others so you can come to trust the information you're getting, rather than some rando who once watched a YouTube video and is regurgitating information that isn't even appropriate for the question someone has.

I personally hope that forums like these make a resurgence. They're extremely helpful from the standpoint that if you ask a question, you're more likely to get great answers rather than someone giving you horrifically bad information like you see routinely given in some of the planted aquarium Facebook groups. Sometimes I wonder how people manage to tie their own shoes in the morning based on what I've seen in those groups

 

[GreggZ]

Hello everyone, my name is Steve and I am a long time fish keeper, pretending aquascaper and all around planted tank enthusiast.

For a number of years I maintained a very active feed on Instagram under the user name mn_aquascape. It's still there, and has a ton of information on my experiences in the hobby, but I haven't touched it in more than a year. Over time I found myself chasing some undefined goal... how many likes can I get, how many comments can I generate, how many posts a week? It never ended. On top of that, the IG algorithms seemed odd and I never understood which of my posts were seen by who, and more importantly why I would see certain posts. It became underwhelming and the harder I tried, the more disconnected I began to feel. The pandemic didn't help.

My kids were growing older, we accomplished some other very important life goals, and I decided to downsize my hobby in favor of being with my family. It was fantastic!

Recently, life has returned to a more normal pace, work has settled in, kids are more self sufficient and I find myself getting back into the hobby. In fact, now the kids love it, and they want to be part of it with me!

I'm happy that I kept most of my equipment. I cleaned it up before storage, and tucked everything away nicely. It has been wonderful to pull things out, plug them back in, and get going again quickly. The fish and plants that remained through my "hobby drought" have bounced back nicely and are thriving again under more careful attention.

I can't imagine I am the only hobbiest frustrated with the metaverse/reddit empires of social media platforms. Am I the only one that feels disconnected and frustrated by the oversight imposed by these platforms on hobbiest groups that stiffle the exchange of ideas and livestock and plants? I'm tired of people that hide behind the faceless names on these platforms only popping out to troll others and make inflammatory remarks and comments for kicks and giggles. I'm optimistic community can still exist online and I look forward to the growth of forums such as these.

I am curious, what are some of you doing to survive the seasons of your hobby? And do you look forward to a brighter future in forums like this?

Take care, and see you around!
--Steve

Hey Steve good to see you here and glad to see you getting back into the hobby again.

Like you I am firm believer that forums are still the best place to learn about the hobby. It's also nice to hang out in a place "where everybody knows your name". Some of the old ones have got pretty stale and there is almost no one left with any experience. I hate to say this but it's a lot of the blind leading the blind.

So far we've been fortunate to get some really high quality and talented planted tankers join here. And more keep coming any day. I hope it continues as I much prefer this format to any of the socials.

Think about it. On most socials few would have the stamina to read through this post to the end!

I am really looking forward to seeing what you are up to. You should start a build thread sometime as I am sure many would like know more about your thoughts and experiences with planted tanks.

 

[GreggZ]

The information you get from others in something like Facebook groups is always suspect, and as you read through many of the responses to questions it seems like the people don't actually have experience but are rather regurgitating information. Forums like these are great because you get to know people and their backgrounds, and see the advice they give others so you can come to trust the information you're getting, rather than some rando who once watched a YouTube video and is regurgitating information that isn't even appropriate for the question someone has.

I personally hope that forums like these make a resurgence. They're extremely helpful from the standpoint that if you ask a question, you're more likely to get great answers rather than someone giving you horrifically bad information like you see routinely given in some of the planted aquarium Facebook groups. Sometimes I wonder how people manage to tie their own shoes in the morning based on what I've seen in those groups

@DDio LOL I love this post! It's exactly the way I feel. Many older forums are the same way now, people regurgitating what they read while they haven't demonstrated any semblance of success.

I can tell you that I know many of the people who have joined here so far, and there is already what I would consider a solid brain trust available here.

 

[mn_aquascape]

Hey Steve good to see you here and glad to see you getting back into the hobby again.

Thanks! I hope to be able to share a few things I've learned along the way, while learning some new tips and tricks. I've got some nagging questions that I can't seem to pin down on my own.
-- Steve

 

[mn_aquascape]

Glad to hear that you're back at it again.

With regard to social media, I'm probably in the minority, but I couldn't care less about it. I think the whole system is set up to give you dopamine hits and keep you addicted to it. I actually don't "like" very many things either, but forums like these are different from that perspective. I think social media like Tik Tok, IG, and FB tend to be very vapid and it's very difficult to wade through who has knowledge and who doesn't.

I could go on and on about social media so I'll just leave it there lol.

The longest period I went without a tank of some sort set up was when I moved last year and broke my last reef tank down at the end of July. I think I made it as far as February or March and very quickly set up a little planted nano.

I go through ebbs and flows of interest. When my interest wanes, I just make sure that I'm keeping up with maintenance so that I'm not dealing with a mess once the interest rekindles. When I was younger my biggest challenge was taking more of an interest in something and wanting to devote my full attention towards it. Reef keeping is a great example. I dipped my toe in with a nano reef, and the next thing you know I'm tearing my planted tank down and running 3 reef tanks. I eventually grew bored with them and one by one they came down except my largest reef tank. For a 3-4 year period all I did was maintenance. The corals grew, were doing great, so I didn't have a need to add anything and I lost interest. The tank was doing great until the day I tore it down.

I've had hobbies where I'm really into them for a few months and then I'm completely done, and others where I'm fully immersed in the hobby for years. Aquariums have always been the one constant though throughout my life.

With regard to forums, their use has been on the decline for several years. I'm hoping that will change but it seems society has changed to want that immediate dopamine hit rather than wanting to develop the type of friendships that many of us are used to having used forums for most of our adult lives. The information you get from others in something like Facebook groups is always suspect, and as you read through many of the responses to questions it seems like the people don't actually have experience but are rather regurgitating information. Forums like these are great because you get to know people and their backgrounds, and see the advice they give others so you can come to trust the information you're getting, rather than some rando who once watched a YouTube video and is regurgitating information that isn't even appropriate for the question someone has.

I personally hope that forums like these make a resurgence. They're extremely helpful from the standpoint that if you ask a question, you're more likely to get great answers rather than someone giving you horrifically bad information like you see routinely given in some of the planted aquarium Facebook groups. Sometimes I wonder how people manage to tie their own shoes in the morning based on what I've seen in those groups

I haven't ventured in the salt world for a long time. I was a young kid the last time I mixed salt. I like freshwater plants if for no other reason than the speed of which they grow!

 

[mn_aquascape]

Glad to see you here @mn_aquascape I took a break and didn't touch a tank for well over a year. Not one plant haha. I now have one heavily planted stem tank back up. Almost to challenge myself and show I still got it. Being an admin for a number of Social Media groups I've seen the trend and downward spiral for a few years now. People look and lurk but hardly every post anything anymore. Like they just don't care. I think forums like this new one will get people back to the OG so to speak. Yeah there are many other Planted Tank Forums out there but many are inundated and poluted with advertising, spam and general bad advice.

Hoping this one works out well, and the commu ity here grows!
--Steve

 

[Art]

I haven't ventured in the salt world for a long time. I was a young kid the last time I mixed salt. I like freshwater plants if for no other reason than the speed of which they grow!

This is so true! I have a reef tank and it's like watching paint dry compared to my high-energy stem tank!

 

[Art]

I can't THANK YOU more for this type of post and the discussion. It's real, authentic and well-intentioned. This is what I tend to miss on social media. Hard to capture that in the one or two sentences and the flood of information you hitting you at once.

Like many of you, I started with aquariums in the 1980s. It is hard to believe that it's been almost 40 years! For the most part, always freshwater and the vast majority really into planted tanks.

My interests have changed over the years. At times I was really into the beauty of aquascaping. Other times I was really enthralled by the science of growing healthy plants. It's normal for our interests to change over time and I think it's a good thing. You tend to see the hobby with fresh eyes and you learn a completely different perspective. Makes you a better holistic aquarist.

After all this time, I've come to sense my burnout periods. I've had many - some self-inflicted, some life-inflicted. Like you, I've had to take hiatus' from time to time. But, I've always had to come back to it. Once you have the bug, it's for life.

Now, when I'm starting to feel the burn out, I take a step back to try to find what is causing it and I address it. Sometimes that's just intentionally slowing what I'm trying to do or taking a few weekends away. This tends to keep me from going completely out of the hobby (because I know I'll be back at some point). And, by the way, I can't count the amount of money I've thrown away by exiting the hobby, selling everything in frustration only to re-buy it a year later at twice the price...

Lastly, on forums, social media and the hobby's place, Gregg and I are running ScapeCrunch differently. We share your life experiences and feel we really understand the value that a friendly, well-run, well-organized forum can bring to hobbyists everywhere and to the hobby overall. That's our mission here and it's for the long-haul.

Please consider ScapeCrunch as yours because it is. It's for you. Please don't be shy to recommend improvements, suggestions and, certainly, constructive criticism. We are all learning from each other and we all have the intention to have a an online place, like Gregg said, "where everybody knows your name! And, they're always glad you came!"

Man, I'm showing my age. If you're one of our younger members and don't know, it's a reference to Cheers, the TV show.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!