At a crossroads... downsize time? / Remodel updates

[DMD123]

One of those times in life where I have to make a tough decision, well possibly if everything works out. There may come an opportunity to get another home at a super cheap price and with our equity in our current home and what not we would be sitting pretty if it all happened. But... yep always a big but, lol, we would be going form over 2000 sq. ft 4 bed, 2.5 bath to a little over 1000 sq. ft 3 bed and 1 bath. That is a big change!

The home we are looking at is in the family and needs to be remodeled for sure and my wife and I complain about how our home is too big for us now that out son is out of the house, so this move would be good. But you guessed it, I will have to downsize the hobby a bit. I currently have a 210g, 75g and 40B and just cant see how I could have all those tanks in such a small home. I likely can keep two, with the 75g being one and the other? Well I think I could get another tank but smaller footprint than the 210g. I am thinking of a 24x48 150g tall type. This would still allow me to keep a few big fish and allow for a pretty big tank still in the smaller home.

At this point it is all talk and speculation as to whether it will happen and who knows after a remodel and taking out a wall or two there may be room for a big tank after all. One of those moments in life where you have to think of the greater good. To possibly own our home outright within the next 5 years and to have extra money for vacations and stuff or to just continue where we are at...

Anyone else have to face a choice like that? What did you do?

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

3 bedroom: guest room, master room, fish room! Keep all tanks!! lol

 

[flamechica]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I like ShortyKiloGyrl's idea. LOL!

I'm too young to have had to make this kind of a decision. We bought our house in 2009, when the whole tax credit thing was going on. So, we still have a long time of paying on our mortgage... We also have a 2000 something sq ft home. No kids and probably won't have any ever - except for furry and aquatic ones. We just like the space, but that also comes with a hefty home mortgage. It would be nice to be out of debt, but at the same time, I don't know that a smaller house would be something that I personally would sacrifice for it. It's nice to be able to have the space for family gatherings and whatnot. I have been able to host my best friend's baby shower & my bridal shower here. Family thanksgiving and Christmas eve dinners, etc. When we got married, we had a bunch of our wedding party staying here, instead of them paying for hotel rooms, etc. I kinda think it's nice to have the space to do that, but that is just us. Your family may be completely different.

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

3 bedroom: guest room, master room, fish room! Keep all tanks!! lol

Would love to but... we are going from a large master bath with walk in closet and super nice attached bathroom to a pretty small bedroom with just the one bath for the whole house. Part of the plans would be to expand to gain some footage there. If we remove a fireplace, furnace and water heater out of the center of the home to the garage we may gain enough space for a big tank...

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

flamechica, yeah we have used our home for guest and family things and would miss that with a smaller home but the long term benefits just seem like the move would be worthwhile. We got our home in 2002 before the big housing market rocketing thing happened and then the big drop. We refinanced when rates were low and we have made excellent decisions so we have a nice chunk of equity to work with. We still have some years to go to completely pay off this home and this new opportunity would really be nice. Part of my brain is working on a hair-brained idea for an even bigger tank in this smaller home somehow, lol.

 

[fishloverRon]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

We moved from a 2300SF home to a 1850SF home. Just the 2 of us. My wife loves to watch TV in the evenings and I really could go all day without turning it on if I can be working with my tanks. In the old home I had 27 different sized tanks set up in my office and scattered throughout the house. I spent a lot of time in the office/fish room and was constantly being called in to come sit with her and watch TV. So, in planning our move here's what we did...for what it might be worth to you or anyone else....and remember, DMD123, you asked for this!!

We decided to make our den our "living" space and I determined that I would no longer continue to actively breed fish. That would eliminate the need for a bunch of 10s and 15s. Each aquarium was going to be a showpiece since they would always be in the ''public eye'', so to speak.

We did measurements of our new den where we knew we would spend most of our time, then I drew it out on graph paper and cut scaled pieces of paper the size of the aquaria I was going to keep and arranged them every which way to get the largest number of several sizes into the room. We fit the TV into a prominent space central to our viewing vision in one corner of the room, and had the tanks on nice stands flanking both sides of the TV against the walls that made the corner. We now have a corner sofa, the center of which is directly across from and facing the TV in the corner.

Anyone that knows me or has read anything I've written and espoused in the past, knows that I'm a believer in that we do this hobby the way we as INDIVIDUALS want to do it. To me that is the crux of a hobby....it's for each hobbyist's own personal design & enjoyment!

So I transitioned my thinking or my paradigm. The major transition that I had to deal with was the change from raising a lot of fish, to watch them grow and then trade or sell, to developing showy tanks. I have always had live plants in my tanks since I was a kid (and that's been a long time, folks!) so my endeavor now is to develop as beautiful an aquascape with as many different plants that I can in each tank. Each of my tanks is different in it's setup and I derive great pleasure out of finding new plants and cultivating them and taking them to the GSAS monthly auctions, the NW Aquarium Swap Meet, and trading, selling, and giving them away. I try never to have to throw any out, because there's always someone wanting some and may not be able to afford them.

What about fish, you say? Don't your miss them? Heck no! I still have fish! This brings up another challenge that I've enjoyed working with. I transitioned from raising fish in multiple tanks to having the environment comfortable for the species to spawn in smaller tanks than normal. I've had German Blue Rams spawn in a 5g nano tank; Sparking Gouramis spawn in a 1g bowl with no air or filtration (think about their native habitats)! Nano tanks are a great way to expand your hobby and skills. Frustrating sometimes, yes, but rather gorgeous when the plan comes together!

I now have 4 tanks set up: a 55g, 2-5gs, and a 12g. I have a nice 65 g with a stand and canopy that we will fit into the den once we take the time to strip the canopy and stand and stain it to match our furniture. That will be my largest tank for the next year or so. Otherwise, I'd have to get rid of some of the others for space reasons.

So now my wife's and my evenings are spent together in our den doing what we enjoy, and doing it together. She watches the TV and I catch some of it while I putz with my tanks....!

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

Ron, very similar with my wife who also likes TV and me fish tanks. I appreciate your story!

 

[Salzabar]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I used to have six 150 gallon biotope tanks featuring six different regions of the world. Easy to do if you have the room but when you downsize into a brand new home 900 gallons of water is just too much. I craiglisted the tanks and down sized to 254 gallons which made my life easier to manage. I looked back to when I started my hobby in 82' with my 10 gallon. Over the next 10 years I had collected 18 tanks that equaled 2500 gallons of water all in a studio apartment. MTS was rampant. That was about the time I met my future wife and decided there was a lot more to life than just keeping fish tanks. I got rid of all my tanks in less than a year. Keep in mind, this was all before craigslist and eBay so the task of clearing out the tanks was word of mouth, garage sales and Everett And Seattle newspaper adds. Once she got a ring on the finger I started to rebuild my hobby again. For most people in this hobby that seems to the norm. So if and when you do downsize there is always a good chance you will rebuild your hobby again.

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I guess 'downsize' for me really is different in the sense I would likely only lose one tank in the transition but would also have to go down in size on the largest tank. So could I live with a 75g and 40g and loose the 210g... yes but I would miss the large community tank for sure.

 

[MattArmstrong]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I'm in a 1000 sq. ft 3bd 1 bath w/ 2 kids half the time. Moved in two and 1/2 years ago after many years in 2000 sq. ft. and larger houses, and before I got back into fish. Because of the layout, all I can really fit in the public living area is a 3 foot 50 gallon and a 5 gallon nano. If we're here after the kids go to college, you can bet some tanks will be going into their rooms.

I'd caution you against planning to cram in as much "stuff" as possible. It makes the smaller spaces feel even smaller. I thought I understood this, but didn't really understand it until we lived here for 6-12 months. Over time we have ended up selling almost all of our "large house" furniture, that we thought was going to still work, for "small house" furniture.

 

[ziggyzoo]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

The last house we rented was only like 800-900 sq. ft and it was my boyfirend, me, 3 cats, and we had a 55 gallon tank! hahaha it went right next to the washing machine in the living room. (dryer was in bedroom) haha I think I have a problem...I lost that house (came home to a for sale sign in driveway, with no notice from landlord) and now live in ONE room at my moms with said boyfriend and 3 cats and we now have a 94 gallon...LOL on that note...I'm downsizing..hahaha

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I'd caution you against planning to cram in as much "stuff" as possible. It makes the smaller spaces feel even smaller. I thought I understood this, but didn't really understand it until we lived here for 6-12 months. Over time we have ended up selling almost all of our "large house" furniture, that we thought was going to still work, for "small house" furniture.

I understand where your coming from there. We have a formal sitting room where my 210g tank is and it has a lot of larger pieces of furniture... that you guessed it never gets used. we also have my TV room/home theater that we are always in. In the new house this would have to be just one room and new furniture to boot.

This home will require a major remodel with the removal of a fireplace and hearth, water heater and furnace out of a center portion of the house to a really big laundry room off to the garage. Taking that out of the living space may actually let me place my 210g there or possibly getting a newer, easy to maintain tank. This move is to make life easier in all aspects, which includes my hobby. My current show tank is deep and a pain to clean so my other goal would be something easy like a 240 gallon that is shallower if possible. Lots of decisions ahead and will see what happens.

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

Looks like the move is going to happen! We have electricians out today putting in a new 200A panel for us. We have also met with our contractor and told him what we want and just are waiting to see how the cost will look. A bit of a change too in the direction of the 'downsize'. I told the wife I dont want to move my 210g over to the new house.... I said I would rather sell it.

So what does that mean? Well I am looking to downsize the number of tanks BUT upsize my biggest! So I am trying to budget in an 8ft 300gallon into this whole thing!

 

[lloyd378]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

Why sell it when you can just loan it to me. I promise to give it back when you move back into a larger house -

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

Why sell it when you can just loan it to me. I promise to give it back when you move back into a larger house -

Since I never plan on moving to a larger house... you would be 'borrowing' it for a while!

 

[lloyd378]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I would be willing to fall on that sword, my good friend! Haha

 

[Betty]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I don't know why, but I always feel a little sadness when someone has to get rid of a tank. It's awesome that you might get a bigger better one, but still... :cry:
Will you keep your fish or will some have to go?

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I don't know why, but I always feel a little sadness when someone has to get rid of a tank. It's awesome that you might get a bigger better one, but still... :cry:
Will you keep your fish or will some have to go?

I really wish I could keep all the tanks but at some point I have to face the reality of the fact I am going from a little over 2000 square feet to a little over 1000 square feet of home. Not really sad, I like the idea of how easy this home will be to maintain and that we would be ahead financially in a big way.

The hope is to get rid of Scruffy's little 40B... but keep Scruffy. He would get Chunk's 75g and Chunk would move into the 300 gallon community tank. Since all the fish would get introduced to the 300g at the same time, it is hoped that the will figure things out without too much fighting. Real concern is that the Oscar has not been with tankmates his size before. He does well with little fish however.

 

[MustangTess]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

I live with my boyfriend and we are in a small apt. we have 2 55g,40gb, 20gl 2 reg 20g, a 15g and many i mean many small tanks for my bettas smallest being 2.5g. we have them in every room even bathrooms with nano tanks. I have my large 55g at the food of my bed, just love relaxing before sleep watching the moonlight glow in the tank.

my point is priorities, if you want to keep the tanks you will find away to do so. Good luck, as a fish breeder and hobbyist I understand your delema, but I have gotten to were I prefer my tanks over a few stands/dressers. But again that was my choice to keep the tanks and not the other smaller things that really didnt matter or bring me pleasure and comfort.

 

[DMD123]

Re: At a crossroads... downsize time? lol

Been busy with a ton of things lately so I have not been on any forums.

What could possibly be keeping me that busy? lol, besides work picking up, we have been starting in on the 'new' house. The 200A service was all installed and passed inspection and now we have guys out there taking out some dangerously big firs out of the yard. All together 4 large firs, 2 maples, a silk tree, a huge laurel hedge and a overgrown rhododendron. A ton of landscaping to do but much safer for us and the neighbors.

So I am shopping for a bigger tank and just cant find exactly what I am looking for... at a price I want to pay.

On the hunt for a glass tank, either an 8ft 240g or a 7ft 265g. I really want new but these are both kind of odd sized. Yep you read it right, I want glass, not acrylic.

So that is the latest update. Will likely not be on again for a long time when the actual clean up and things really start.