Quote Originally Posted by ThaiBuddhaMan
My personal time is where the majority of the costs are incurred. I look at it as a part-time job, not just a hobby. My regular full-time job pays me a hourly wage and I use that hourly wage to calculate my labor costs, since I could choose to work more at my full-time job instead. Fertilizer, electricity, water, equipment and real property overhead are just the start of costs incurred. But you're right a hobbist should only be spending approximately what you posted.
Ah, but I'm not a hobbyist. Labor, etc included, I spend practically nil time on my systems. No automated stuff, just well-set systems that pretty much run themselves. The only times I need to pay attention are during my weekly res changes (some plants drink so slowly and eat so little that I go two weeks for those) where I check my airstones and then refill with nutes. Twenty minutes tops for 12 plants in varying stages.

But I do see what you mean by labor costs. Doing DWC means heavy lugging!