1 break-up, daughters graduation + 1 year, too many tanks to count, a couple of up grades, a few new pets, a few less pets, many grey hairs...to sum it up 5 + years for me and no intentions of giving up now.

+1, the pole will be very bias. The average reefer is not on a forum. Typically its just the hardcore people and they will be in the hobby for a longer period of time (typically)

I think if you can get past 2 years, you will be in the hobby for a while. Lots of people have big ideas at the beginning, and then get frustrated and lose patience when they run into problems. And they don't like the mundane tasks like cleaning and changing water...

Then there are those that have climbed every mountain, and just got bored. Those are the 5+ years people. Don't know what the solution to that is.

But the true long timers, I think, just go slow, minimize/automate their maintenance, and don't set any big goals. They just enjoy the beauty and serenity that the reef tank adds to their home.

I am still in between. I still have some mountains to climb, and some goals. But some day hope to reach the serenity plateau.

This week will be the 7th anniversary of my system. I recall my daughter & I driving to Richmond to pick up the used rig. Borrowed my Mom & Dad's station wagon 'cause there's no way a 77 emptied of LR with all the assorted parts were going to fit into the Saturn I owned at the time! A hectic day or two, drive to OK Falls to pick up station wagon, on to the coast & back to Vernon over snow covered highway passes same day, then bring station wagon back to OK Falls...

I was always fascinated by aquariums but never owned a tank until I found out about salt water a few years before jumping in. Once I knew I'll never move again, it was an easy choice. My previous career had me moving every 4 years, so tear down/setup every few years would have been too much of a hassle.

I love using the forums it is a great way to keep in contact with people, learn new ideas and new tech, learn why some things work and not others, keep abreast of news related to the hobby and even though get xx amount of questions on basic IDs daily/weekly I enjoy it because people new to the hobby are worried and I rarely tire of answering those simple questions.

Also many people are worried about getting yelled at or ridiculed or may have limited knowledge of using forums and their search engines(Case in Point...Reef Central)

For every person that posts on an average forum there is an average 5-7 people who lurk which when you think about it is a huge number of people who browse but rarely if ever post.(BTW this stat comes from online gaming community which is a pretty standard representation of most of the popular online forums)

As to the hobby if you get past the 18month to 2 yr mark I think it is a fairly safe bet that the person will be in the hobby for many yrs to come. Many people as it was stated earlier get frustrated by prices, crashes, basic husbandry and then get out of the hobby mostly because it I believe is a lack of proper knowledge and asking the wrong people for advice.

I believe it's been just over 10 yrs of reefing for me.

ya, unfortunately we're not going to see the results from all of those people who in fact, have left.

I've been kicking this can since 2001.. yikes.

I think my first SW tank was online in 1998, so 16 years now. :eek:

since 2006 for me with many breaks. i don't have the brainpower to calculate my time spent actually being salty.

OMG lol this is the greatest story I've ever heard Harry!!!! How big was it when you got it?