Environmental Impact of our Hobby.

[Aquattro]

Guys, post is about reefing impact. Not shark fins. That can go in another thread, we can post as many threads as we like

[Bblinks]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Guys, post is about reefing impact. Not shark fins. That can go in another thread, we can post as many threads as we like

Thank you brad!

[Aquattro]

I see an overwhelming need to deflect in this thread. Instead of discussing, lots of "but look at that over there stuffs" . Ya, sharks and icebergs and deforestation and aliens all have impacts on reefs. THIS thread is about the reefing hobby and it's participants on reefs. Not global warming. Not raw sewage issues. Marine aquarium hobby impacts.

It's a good topic, no rights or wrongs, just throwing things out there. For me, the hobby is a bit selfish. I enjoy the tank as art in my house. Does that make me a bad person? Do I really care if someone thinks it does? Not really. But, I'm not going to pretend I don't have some impact, regardless of the size. And with all my reefing buddies around the globe, it's gotta count for something. Or maybe not? If the hobby never existed, would anything be different? Can't say it would or wouldn't. But thought it was a good topic for discussion instead of nothing.

[somafish]

Sorry Brad, I'll be good.
I do think you can enjoy this hobby with next to no ill effect on reefs in the wild, you just won't have those hard to get fish and ultra rare corals

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by somafish

I do think you can enjoy this hobby with next to no ill effect on reefs in the wild, you just won't have those hard to get fish and ultra rare corals

Sure, but what about all the rock we take? The mining for materials to make salt? The cheap electronics that end up in the landfill? All impacts of the hobby.

Yes, we now have man made rock, dry rock, etc, but that all comes from somewhere. Salt. How much salt gets used a year globally for the hobby? And really, does that even matter? No idea personally But just thinking about what we use, how much we use and where it all ends up!

[Aquattro]

I've asked several times that this stay focused. Please stay on topic, tangents will be removed. There are lots of good arguments about lots of things, please start your own thread to discuss.

[somafish]

Rock I can't deny (I also don't know if it comes directly from live reefs or dead ones) I'm pretty good with electronics, at this point I only use leds and I still have a 10 year old Quiet One pump working lol, and haven't done a true water change in a year. But we will always have an impact on nature as long as we take from it and don't return anything, and that's why I think it got so far off topic is because this isn't a simple yes no question. Forget the electronics going to the dump, think about the emissions going into making that quiet one pump, the emissions into transporting that pump, the electricity powering that pump (coal power where I come from)the dump is the simple part of the equation...... oh and dumps are huge emitters of green house gasses.

[Aquattro]

Ya, and that's the thing, This isn't a question looking for a yes or no. It's just a thought process. We all do what we do, for various reasons we do it. But do we ever consider how we impact what we love, doing what we love?
Rock. I think they use it to build roads. Thousands of tons of it. So does our hobby then have any appreciable impact?? Dunno. Likely not. ORr does it? So many factors to consider, so many degrees of separation and different ripple effects.

All I'm doing is giving it more thought today than I did last week. Will that change anything I do? Dunno..

[Reefer Rob]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Sure, but what about all the rock we take? The mining for materials to make salt? The cheap electronics that end up in the landfill? All impacts of the hobby.

Yes, we now have man made rock, dry rock, etc, but that all comes from somewhere. Salt. How much salt gets used a year globally for the hobby? And really, does that even matter? No idea personally But just thinking about what we use, how much we use and where it all ends up!

Everything we do has an environmental impact. The question you should ask is whether reef keeping is contributing to something that may causing irreparable damage to the earth (thus the discussion on global warming would be valid ) As long as the collection of materials and animals is done in a sustainable manner I don't really have a problem with it.

The reason I downsized my tank, and thought seriously about getting out of the hobby (I almost succeeded) was because the energy consumption (carbon footprint) of my aquarium probably equaled the combined usage of every other aspect of my life.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Everything we do has an environmental impact. The question you should ask is whether reef keeping is contributing to something that may causing irreparable damage to the earth (thus the discussion on global warming would be valid ) As long as the collection of materials and animals is done in a sustainable manner I don't really have a problem with it.

The reason I downsized my tank, and thought seriously about getting out of the hobby (I almost succeeded) was because the energy consumption (carbon footprint) of my aquarium probably equaled the combined usage of every other aspect of my life.

Ok, but I'm guessing rock harvesting is not sustainable. How long to have new rock self create? Really long time, I think. Fish, coral, yes, I think that can be managed sustainably. Other stuff, no clue really.
But I guess that is my question, are we causing irreversible harm?

Also, pretty sure my Jeep has a bigger carbon footprint than my tank