Do I stay in the hobby or leave it--the cost of a cannister
Posted: 13 Dec 2013, 00:50
I'm at a crossroads...
Right now I have one fish. (gravel, etc. was cleared out for a makeover)
A used 55g w/ stand
A good in-line heater
My canister is dying of a mortal leak. It's not likely to last more than a week.
Do I buy a new canister (there's one on sale, I don't know when it'll go on sale again, a good name, over $130 in savings) or do I shrink everything down to a 20L and just kind of limp along or do I get out of the hobby, loosing a few good friends, a secondary hobby and a nice place to hang out? It's one of two hobbies kind of keeping me sane. Are all those things worth $173? Is it worth $173-odd to get a good filter and stay in the hobby or not? It's a lot of money. I rarely buy myself anything, but I'm also in a bit of a financial pinch. I've been in the hobby for several decades. I'd been planning a tank make-over (so I sold off things), planning to buy fish (when I can find them locally)--this would eat up about 2/3 of my budget. If I can rationalize spending the money, I'll be able to afford probably just fish and a bit of driftwood, after buying the filter (which is said to reduce the fish workload dramatically.) What do I do?
I need a few good opinions to help sort my head out, please.
Thanks!
Right now I have one fish. (gravel, etc. was cleared out for a makeover)
A used 55g w/ stand
A good in-line heater
My canister is dying of a mortal leak. It's not likely to last more than a week.
Do I buy a new canister (there's one on sale, I don't know when it'll go on sale again, a good name, over $130 in savings) or do I shrink everything down to a 20L and just kind of limp along or do I get out of the hobby, loosing a few good friends, a secondary hobby and a nice place to hang out? It's one of two hobbies kind of keeping me sane. Are all those things worth $173? Is it worth $173-odd to get a good filter and stay in the hobby or not? It's a lot of money. I rarely buy myself anything, but I'm also in a bit of a financial pinch. I've been in the hobby for several decades. I'd been planning a tank make-over (so I sold off things), planning to buy fish (when I can find them locally)--this would eat up about 2/3 of my budget. If I can rationalize spending the money, I'll be able to afford probably just fish and a bit of driftwood, after buying the filter (which is said to reduce the fish workload dramatically.) What do I do?
I need a few good opinions to help sort my head out, please.
Thanks!