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Reef Addiction Support for Spouses

I normally wouldnt dare post on my hubby's territory (aka the boards) but lately I've been feeling that the hobby is taking over our lives and that while the fish and corals live in luxury - we are living with rugs that need to be installed, walls that need painting and spackling, a camper that needs repeairing etc.

There have got to be other spouses out there that feel like their signifigant others have an addiction but really has anyone ever heard of Reef-A-Non? Where does one get support for this? Anyone who has a similar issue or knows where I can turn , please let me know. In the meantime i found this article online at Reefkeeping.com


Top Ten Reasons You Should Not Have Picked Up This Hobby...
10) Because every time i walk into a local fish store, I seem to lose $100.
espocrespo of Stroke, England

9) Because student loans are for books, food and rent... not for protein skimmers, two-part solution and frags.
exoticaquatix of Baltimore, Maryland

8) Because your boss isn't always receptive to, "I will be in at noon tomorrow because I have a coral being delivered that I have to inspect and acclimate before the "'Arrive Alive" guarantee is voided." And even less receptive when you call him at noon and tell him that FedEx didn't deliver it on time and you have take the whole day off. And don't forget the fact that the coral cost as much as the work-day you just wasted.
cmondo of Holmdel County, New Jersey

7) Because I didn't realize I had a bad back until I started picking up heavy glass tanks, buckets of water and bending over into my aquarium to move rocks around.
yardboy of Panama City, Florida

6) Because I knew I should have left this hobby alone when I had to make the choice between a Yuma (Ricordea), or baby food...
Kraylen of Monterey Bay, California

5) Because simple car trips to run errands has turned into changing the route to pass by the maximum amount of fish stores. Since you are passing by, you just have to stop in. Three hours later, you get home with ketchup from the furthest grocery store (and a few new frags).
dbenyo of Pompano Beach, Florida

4) I didn't like school the first time, and now I am back here trying to remember what I was supposed to learn in Chemistry, Geometery, Physics and the most painful of them all... Economics! What I have learned about Economics is that this hobby has shifted my finances from macro to micro in a hurry...
Atticus of Independence, Iowa

3) Because I think my girlfriend could cope with me having a heroin addiction better then a reef addiction.
zachtos of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

2) Because it's more addicting than crack!
stunreefer of Ann Arbor, Michigan

1) Because now I'm single...
oneradtek202 of Syracuse, New York
 
I don't know if this going to help you, but here is my story.

I really felt bad taking money out of our family budget to pay for my corals and fish, so I decided to open another business that will pay for ALL my fish and coral expenses. I went to the library, read tons of books ... opened two on-line stores. One store took off .... we decided to create a paypal account just for that one on-line store and for the fish stuff. If I sold something in my store and there is balance on my paypal account, I get to order new corals, if there are no sales and no money, fish has to wait for new roommates. This way all walls and rugs get fixed and fish are waiting for their turn. ;D
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Hi, my name is Paul and I’m a reef-a-holic.

As with many of you, I first started with fresh, and before I knew it, that led to the hard stuff….salt. I tried the fresh-a-done program, but it’s not the same.

Now I hooked and am ready for the ten steps.

Come on Kelly…it could be worse. Every little boy has to have his toys. At least he has involved you in his addiction.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
whitebear1020 said:
I don't know if this going to help you, but here is my story.

I really felt bad taking money out of our family budget to pay for my corals and fish, so I decided to open another business that will pay for ALL my fish and coral expenses. I went to the library, read tons of books ... opened two on-line stores. One store took off .... we decided to create a paypal account just for that one on-line store and for the fish stuff. If I sold something in my store and there is balance on my paypal account, I get to order new corals, if there are no sales and no money, fish has to wait for new roommates. This way all walls and rugs get fixed and fish are waiting for their turn. ;D

Curious what type of business did you open?
 
HAhaha hhhiiiiii PPaaaauuullllll....

You can always change the locks on the doors to the fish room and tell him "No fish til chores are done!" :p

I can see how it could affect things on the family front. I could spend about 4 hrs a day staring in my tanks, I only have cats and a gf to worry about! I couldnt imagine responsibilities andreefin!
 
im a reefaholic 2 and if you want the things mentioned in your post done pm me thats what I do for a living I will give you a good deal (so I can buy more frags) LOL John
 

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I am reefaholic in recovery. It has been 6 days since my last water change. I have been avoiding the 12 step program because they lead down to my fish room. Being in the same room with my skimmer and reactors could lead to an unwanted intervention.
 
I love being included in his addiction - I'd be even more excited if he could include his fishy friends in helping regain control of my house. Money is not the issue- it's what gets neglected due to the BOARDS... plus once spring comes , he'll be dividing his time between this and his Kubota ( huge Time Allen Grunt ) - I warn all of you -when we host the meeting in the spring - the house will be falling down around us but the tanks - they will look mahvelous
 

magic

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
tazwife said:
I love being included in his addiction - I'd be even more excited if he could include his fishy friends in helping regain control of my house. Money is not the issue- it's what gets neglected due to the BOARDS... plus once spring comes , he'll be dividing his time between this and his Kubota ( huge Time Allen Grunt ) - I warn all of you -when we host the meeting in the spring - the house will be falling down around us but the tanks - they will look mahvelous

Glad to see hubby has his priorities straight. Only kidding Kelly! ;D Taz get to work ;D
 
redfishbluefish said:
Hi, my name is Paul and I’m a reef-a-holic.
Hi, Paul!

Hi, my name is Nicole and I'm a reef-a-holic and I made my husband a reef-a-holic too. Which means the house NEVER gets clean, but boy do the tanks look nice!
 
Hi my name is Dan and i am a Reefaholic as well. I did some research and learned that being a reefaholic is uncureable! ;D


When u decided to buy a new skimmer instead of paying ur rent u know ur srcewed up LOL
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
ken6217 said:
Sounds pretty simple. Cut him off in the bedroom …….

Won’t work…….That happened when she said “I do.”

NikkiT said:
Hi, my name is Nicole and I'm a reef-a-holic and I made my husband a reef-a-holic too.

Does that make you a dealer??

DanJ said:
When u decided to buy a new skimmer instead of paying ur rent u know ur srcewed up LOL

Sounds normal to me! The rent will be there next month, but the skimmer is needed now.
 

Tazmaniancowboy

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Thanks for the support guys,This is too funny! I think she is just jealous because she can't post my stuff in the defunct for sale forum.....Maybe we should take this party over to the members only section!

ROFLMAO.gif

Taz
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Paul she started me off slow, just a hob filter and compact flourescent lights. Then it was a few clown fish just to get you hooked. She did all that for free, then I was hooked. Now we have multiple tanks and she introduced me to Tropiquarium where I have to buy water weekly just to keep the fix going. Now I just dream of frags.
 

The_Codfather

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
LOL.. Very funny thread!.. well one good thing happened from me starting this hobby.. I gave up booze.. the next thing is giving up smoking.. Every time I buy a pack of smokes now i think that money could have gone towards something for the tank... both things my wife has been on at me for years now and now i have a 3 year old it's even more reason.. plus the tank is a bonding thing for me a my little girl.. So I don't think my wife would be posting in this thread anytime soon :)
 
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