The time consumption of this hobby really ebbs and flows. The first several weeks of the hobby consist of constant water changes that burn up a lot of time and a lot of nerves. Not to mention the actual setup of the tank which requires hours of preparation and setup.
However, once your tank is setup and cycled you really only need about 1 minute a day to drop food in the tank, and about 15 minutes a week to do a water change.
The type of tank you manage also greatly influences the amount of time consumption. For example, if you have live plants, you will most likely be fighting back algae blooms and have to clean the tank more consistently. If you have a saltwater tank, there is a lot more equipment to purchase as well as more tank levels to maintain.
Costs: 8/10
I was not surprised to find out that fishkeeping was an expensive hobby to set up, but even with having a large majority of it donated, it was still costly.
So far here is all the equipment. I received a lot of it @ a discounted price due to a moving sale so:
- 20g Tank: $0.00
- Tank Stand: $0.00
- Aquarium Salt: $0.00
- Tap Water Conditioner: $0.00
- Stress Coat: $0.00
- Freshwater Tropical Fish Flakes: $0.00
- 5 Black Molly's and 3 Pearl Danio's: $15.00
- pH 7.0: $10.00
- Decorations (Sunken Ship, Drift Wood, and fake plants): $35.00
- API Freshwater Test Kit: $23.00
- Python Gravel Cleaner: $27.00
- Marineland 280 Bio-Filter: $30.00
- Gravel: $7.00
- Hood: $32.00
- Air Bubbler: $10.00
- 3g Bucket: $8.00
The free tank and stand saved me probably $60 - $100 and had I gone with a saltwater tank, or expensive rare fish, the cost would have quickly raised well above that. A lot of these are "start-up" costs, and I would only need to buy chemicals and food from here on out unless equipment broke.
Overall Enjoyment: 8/10
I rated this hobbies overall enjoyment as pretty high for several reasons. The first being the fish. Watching the fish eat and play (or fight) around in the tank was a constant source of enjoyment. In the morning when I came into the living room and turned on the light and see the fish immediately start swimming around, it put a smile on my face.
The second would be the satisfaction of doing something well. Keeping all those fish alive (almost all of them) and happy for the month was extremely satisfying considering my past attempts at fishkeeping yielded many sad toilet flushes.
The third would be the aquascaping. Being able to shape the environment that the fish live in was very satisfying. I could make the aquarium look like the beach by my parents summer home so that everytime I look at it, I think of all the fun I had there as a child.
Fourth and finally would have to be how much my children have enjoyed the tank. Watching my son stick his finger in the tank and have the fish try and nibble on his finger was a constant source of entertainment for everyone. My son loved to help me feed the fish, and loved watching them peck away at the flakes. Whenever my 3 month old daughter was inconsolable, I would plop her in a chair in front of the tank and she would immediatly be mesmorized by all the movement.
Technical Skill Required: 7/10
The "Technical Skill" required for fishkeeping is more about research and preparation. Knowing about the nitrogen cycle and aquarium environments is crucial when mainting an aquarium. You can quickly kill every fish in your tank by not treating your tap water before putting it in your tank.
You also need to know about the fish your putting in your tank. Certain fish are very agressive and need to be kept in schools. Most fish can only be in either fresh water or marine (salt water) environments.
Overall, the juice was worth the squeeze and I had a great time with the hobby.
Stick around for part 2 of the conclusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment