They really don't know, do they???

[Redeye]

I was looking at that 125g setup with everything for $1100( controllers, reactors, euroreef,ect) and my lady said
" You wanna spend $1100 on a fish tank?!"

I start doing the math, I've spent much more than that on the two little tanks I have right now, I mean, the 29g cost around $650 so far, and it's only got like 5 corals in it, and they are tiny, and cost $5 each

I thought our "others" would have caught on alittle by now, I mean, Drfoster catalogs are everywhere, she has to see those prices and wonder...

Anyone else's wife/gf/bf/ect ever learn how much they spent???

[SolRo]

Total cost to get to mysetup sofar is a dark and tightly held secret

[SDFISHMAN]

I keep mine confused with all the tanks coming in and out she doesn't ask questions. I have so many she has no clue what is new and what was already there.:D

[CyberGuy]

Even I don't know how much I have spent because I lost count.

[FishBulb]

I just get an allowance from mine. It actually works out pretty well.

[iVgOnMaD]

Hmmm, hope she doesnt find out cuz I spend more on my tank than I do on her :eek:

[Jett]

I had an exact figure tallied when I finished my set up, then to protect myself I burned it.

[KT-150]

When she sees something new, i tell her I traded some old equip. in the garage for it. Thats why sdreefs is great. theres no record or receipt of your transactions!

[RussM]

Mine's super cool... she was on my butt to add more stuff to my tanks - in particular, she said my reef needed more color - she even went with me bouncing around the LFSs and Harold's FragCity to help me pick good livestock additions. (of course, Harold had the best stuff!) Plus, she was all over me to order and install a new skimmer in our mantis shrimp tank. Basically, it was "I don't care what it costs... just get me a good one." I'm a lucky guy!

[Chanas4]

:D I have the greatest hubby. He actually bought me the upgrade tank stand and canopy for christmas. Had it designed to fit what I wanted to put init and evenmade sure ihad a taller canopy in case I wanted halides. We have seperate checking accounts and as a nurse I make a decent salary. He says, "Now you can fill it with new corals every payday" :D Its been a great 25 years.

[coral diver]

Well let me put my wife in the list of a good reefing partner :cool: she even give names to the inhabitants :eek: :D

[Chanas4]

Well let me put my wife in the list of a good reefing partner :cool: she even give names to the inhabitants :eek: :D


And they let us drag them all over town in search of deals

[KT-150]

My wife is pretty supportive as long as I dont give more attention to my reef than my kids! She's actually buying me my much need calcium reactor on father's day!

[SECTER1]

Well over a G now for my sumpless 40G with PCs

[BigAir]

Just happen to be lucky enough that my wife doesn't really care as long as she can buy a few DVDs' every now and then. Although, she still complains about the $80 CBB that we lost a month or 2 after we got it.:p Pretty small loss if ya ask me.

[treylane]

Everything goes into Quicken, so the "Tank Tab" is a subject that comes up whenever HE wants a new LENS :D

[DaveMorris]

My wife loves it when company comes over and admires our tank. In fact, when we bought our house, my wife looked at the linen closet in the hallway, our ONLY linen storage in the whole house, and said, "Hey wouldn't it be cool to have a fish tank in there?" The doors and shelves were out in less than two hours and a 75g tank was in place the next morning. She is a great support person for me.

[DaChrisDude]

Lol...

My GF used to like my tank, then I kinda overdid it and she now semi-loathes all the "stupid fish stuff".... She does like my fish though.

The equipment alone for my lil 18.7gallon cost me a little over a grand. I already had the majority of the livestock in it, but that probably cost at least another $500....

[fishfinger]

I keep mine confused with all the tanks coming in and out she doesn't ask questions. I have so many she has no clue what is new and what was already there.:D


Please. When I die don't let my wife sell my tanks, my fishing gear, or my motorcycles for what I told her I paid for them....lol.

Here is a trick I use for buying new fishing gear. I don't think it will work for fish tanks however. I bundle up 5 or 6 rods and and go on a half day local trip. On the way home a stop at the tackle store and buy a new rod and real. I stuff it in the bundle with the others. When I get home a just wash it off with the others and pretend that I have had it all along. This actually works since I have so many that she can't keep track anymore no matter how hard she tries to remember what they all look like. The pile keeps getting bigger and she is suspicous but can't prove anything.
Oh yea. always use cash to buy stuff and don't forget to throw the reciept away fool!!!!

[da6d2003]

Anyone else's wife/gf/bf/ect ever learn how much they spent???

Absolutely, NO CHANCE!!!!

[crstjohn]

I'm in deep water with what she does know about. Imagine if she found out what I have spent to date:eek: Actually I have no idea either except I am now living paycheck to paycheck and still need more money!

[victortrav]

i got my wife her own tank and went with the "we can have quality time doing this together" routine actually my wife is great about it she is a kick ass chick (she reads my posts on the boards too) i love you baby (that should be good for another fish or something) Seriously she is great about my / our hobby

[Shemp]

I just get an allowance from mine. It actually works out pretty well.

Yeah we are trying this also...well see how it works:eek: The part that my wife has a hard time understanding is the constant need to replace lighting, i try to explain to her about phosphors losing lumens over time, blah blah blah, she tries to be understanding, but i can't keep up when she talks about interior desing styles of "country" vs. "french" vs. "traditional":o :( so it's always a wonderful dance of trying to get her to spend money on her things so i can justify spending more on the tank:p

[Shemp]

I had an exact figure tallied when I finished my set up, then to protect myself I burned it.

This is so very true:D :D :D :D ;)

[467echo]

I talked my wife into an upgrade because I got the tanks used with stand for only $100. A couple days later I spent $300 on just plumbing parts!!

[TripleP]

When she sees something new, i tell her I traded some old equip. in the garage for it. Thats why sdreefs is great. theres no record or receipt of your transactions!


i do the same thing. It still gets on her nerves. Thank god for Sdreefs. she freakout when i spent 150 for my 250w mh set up off here. also tried the allowance thing really doesn't work for me.

[pk-sd]

My wife does not mind my hobby. She knows its “aqua-therapy” for me. Plus its lot cheaper than golf (I think:eek: ). At least I get to share it with the family and friends and its educating for the kids.;)

As far as expenses, its “don’t ask don’t tell” policy around the house. Even if my friends ask me how much, I just tell them its too much. Hell I keep myself in dark of the true expenses. If I really started to add things up, I will have to quit.

Lets not kid ourselves, it’s not a hobby. Its an addiction !!!!!!

[TripleP]

Lets not kid ourselves, it’s not a hobby. Its an addiction !!!!!!

This is really true

[Flash]

"You wanna spend $1100 on a fish tank?!"


I collect coins, and if you think women don't understand why anybody would want to spend money on an aquarium you should hear what they say about buying coins! :( :eek:

[SolRo]

I'm betting that womens shoe, accessory, and clothing collections also mysteriously grow in size and expense over time.

[TripleP]

I'm betting that womens shoe, accessory, and clothing collections also mysteriously grow in size and expense over time.


it really does. I bet my wife has spent more money on all her stuff than i have spent during the same amount of time

[lucubrator]

I collect coins, and if you think women don't understand why anybody would want to spend money on an aquarium you should hear what they say about buying coins! :( :eek:

At least those don't depreciate.

A professor of mine once showed off a big plasma thing in his lab (http://sdphca.ucsd.edu/camv.html), and said, "There's a camera in one end, and you pour money in the top (LHe Fill)."

[Chanas4]

I'm betting that womens shoe, accessory, and clothing collections also mysteriously grow in size and expense over time.

I used to have a nice purse collection. Louis Vuiton x3, Several coach bags, other bigname brands too. Once i got started in this hobby, the investment in purses paid for corals when I sold thepurses off at extremely goodprices :D

[Redeye]

She travels around town picking up frags, and shopping at harolds, naming fish, and arranging rocks with me. She's good about it, and very smart, I think she is just in denial about the whole thing

thank goodness:)

[Poacher]

I have resorted to using guilt, manipulation and deceit with my wife. :rolleyes: :eek: :)

"But honey I had to buy it to save the fish and coral"...

"I traded the small zenia frag in "OUR" tank for the new MH lights with T-5s pendant. I think I got "US" a better deal...

"Honey the new Red Carpet Anemone was given to me by someone who could not take good care of it"...

I have also learned not to keep reciepts, wet plastic bags, or styrofoam boxes lying around for her to question me about...

[Chanas4]

She travels around town picking up frags, and shopping at harolds, naming fish, and arranging rocks with me. She's good about it, and very smart, I think she is just in denial about the whole thing

thank goodness:)

Oh yeah shes just in denial. Actually what she is doing is what my hubby did for many years, just dont want to admit that they are just as excited about it as we are. We might have ammunition to say I told you so then :D I know this because my hubby admitted it on our 25th anniversary while we were reminsicing about our life. Just pretend you dont know that :D

[nitrogenbubbles]

:( my tank is sort of sparse becuase most money goes to the little one now, but summation of the past 10 years in the hobby....lets just put it this way...it would have easily paid for a new car....and I have had no regrets...except selling them off when I had to move. Starting over is always a upset, wish I gould have brought my tanks everywhere I went. But, I can say the wife does not have full support ( she thinks my current 75 is "too big" and I wanted to put a planted fw setup with schooling tetras in the garage....she said tht I can't put any tank in the garage, because she would never see me leave the garage again :))

[Dakota]

I finally crunched the number right before I shut down my tank.. and with upgrades, livestock, salt, test kits, yada, yada... I've invested MORE than $3600 for my 50 gal. Which is one reason why I was really really depressed about shutting it down..... But I do have a lot of equipment lying around now to start up again :-D