Who does your tank maintenance?

[kkiel02]

I think that if you use companies it kind of takes away from the hobby IMO. Now I understand that some people just dont have the time to take care of a tank as a career comes first.

I have mine setup where I can go on a week vacation with one to two feedings. I rarely get any longer vacations than that at this point though. :(

Oh yeah and this brings up another big plus from maast- Other reefers are always ready to help if need be(maintenance or feeding). The networking aspect is a tremendous help if you need someone to cover you while you are on vacation.

[SABOB]

I do my own, but have had times when things weren't going well when I thought maybe a company could help troubleshoot.Usually I just do a bunch of water changes,test and let things settle for awhile,then start back again.

[cowboy572]

I agree with Kyle, if you use a outside firm to help maintain your tank it takes away from the experience of owning a tank. I do all my own maintence. When I had my accident late in Oct 2008 I looked into a lfs store to help with my maintence. When I heard what they charged, I thought they where crazy. So a simple little post here on maast and I got all the help I needed and then some to take care of my tank.

[ShAgMaN]

I do all the maintenance, however when I go on vacation I have a trusted neighbor top off water, check/empty skimmer, clean glass, and feed (I hook them up)...additionally I do have a maintenance co. on standby in case of emergency.

[tzhanks]

I didn't even know those types of companies existed why even have a saltwater tank maintenance is half the fun

[CoryDude]

From my experience working at a LFS that had a maint division, I can tell you that those that use them exclusively probably won't be regulars on this site.

Those people didn't really see a reef tank for anything other than a piece of expensive furniture. They didn't really care about the hobby or share our enthusiasm.

Maybe I'm weird, but maintaining and getting my arms wet in the tank are the best part of the hobby.

[twychopen]

My tank is at my office but I still do it myself. I honestly think that if you are serious enough to keep up with a forum, then you are a "DIY" that loves to tinker with the tanks. I doubt many people read up or ask tons of questions when a company comes and takes care of it for them...Also, when was the last time you saw a "professional" tank cleaning company take care of someones live corals??? I never have, maybe they are out there but it takes a lot of time and effort.

EDIT oops sorry, i didn't read the above post. I just quick replied haha. sorry to steal the thoughts.

[RayAllen]

If you are using a maintance company your not really a true hobbiest, maybe thats just my biast opinion. Those that have a company do all the work simply see it as a peice of art...

You learn a lot about your system and aquariums overall doing the work yourself.

[jroescher]

My wife helped me clean the skimmer once. About 2 years ago if I remember right.

[Mr Cob]

Pretty harsh comments about professional maintenance crews. I'm sure some of the general comments are true but can you really say that about Jason or Jeremy? How about Dr Mark's crew or Gabe's? These guys are PROFESSIONALS and I'm certain if someone did decide to have their tank cared by one of them that they would be getting the best of the best.

I have seen tanks that have been maintained by both Reefs2u and Aquarium Designs that would not fit into those comments. Some of these tanks are owned by active members on MAAST and have gorgeous corals that I'm sure we would not classify them as not being true hobbyists. Hopefully some of them will chime in... I can think of several and they are nothing close to being amateurs.