OT: Vegas

[cota472]

So this weekend I took the family on the long journey to Las Vegas. Of course we drove down the strip and took in the sights. We went to Mandelay Bay and checked out their 1.6 million gallon shark reef and some of their other cool reptiles.

We also stopped at Acrylic Tank Manufacturing from the show Tanked. Kinda depressing to see their retail store. I was talking to one of the guys working and he was saying the retail store went downhill bad when the show took off. They moved to a new warehouse and lost a lot of their stock. Now so much goes into the show that the retail side has turned into a souvenir shop with a few small tanks

 

[Borchers]

That sucks....I see the retail in the back ground and it looks packed with equipment and livestock. What gives ?

 

[Wills612]

Stop by the Pawn Stars shop?

 

[cota472]

We are not far from there pawn shop, but my wife wasn't interested is going. We will be leaving on Monday so there is still time.

 

[tfp]

Mirage and Caesars had some nice displays last time i was there.

 

[BCool]

Bass pro has the best display IMO.

 

[cota472]

We went there today and we got there just before feeding time. It was very awesome to see them feeding the rays. My 2 Year old loved it.

 

[cota472]

Oh our 4:45am wake up call was awesome. Someone threw their cigarette in a trash can and it caught fire. No damage to the hotel but trying to get a 2 year old and 5 month old down the stairs from the 15th floor is awesome fun...

 

[crazzyreefer]

The show, tanked is full of..... first off they don;t have a clue of how to build a system that will work, they fill it with corals and fish UNCYCLED!!!! They get the fish from the wholesaler for free, and charge the client for them, the last wholesaler stopped all the free fish and corals and they just got another wholesaler to give them fish and corals.... what a bunk of a show....

 

[generaltoaster]

not to mention they add the entire stock at once! boy would I love to see some death statistics and tank parameters like a week after they leave.

 

[coker98]

Just so everyone is sure, ATM is hardly a premier location for the local hobbyists.

There are several other stores to fill your addiction and yes, at one point, their retail store was very robust but since their move, there are only a couple fish and t shirts.

But, they don't deal with the public and won't build residential tanks. Not to mention the reputation mentioned above for lack of knowledge of a long term system also makes hobbyists venture to other stores.

If you guys ever stop in town here are a few shops to visit.

Aquatic Empires
Aquatic Treasures
Glass Habitats
Desert Reef Co.
Pisces Reef Emporium

All are very nice stores with even more polite owners.

 

[cota472]

My wife and I both know the show is crap and they don't have a good reputation for long term systems, but the show still entertains her and she wanted to see their shop. We were not expecting much from the shop , but thought they might of had something set up at least showing off their work We definitely were not looking to buy anything for my tank from there, I could barely handle the 12 hour car ride home with 2 screaming kids. All in all, it was a good trip, the sharks at Mandalay bay was pretty awesome, the tanks at Bass Pro Shop were very good. We got to see family we haven't seen in years and we got to see the strip at night. I have been to Vegas several times and never drove down the strip.

 

[rott161982]

Called ATM for a tank quote before and first thing they ask u is how much u looking to spend on tank setup i think they only want to work with ppl willing to spend over 6 figures on a 500 or so gallon tank

 

[coker98]

Called ATM for a tank quote before and first thing they ask u is how much u looking to spend on tank setup i think they only want to work with ppl willing to spend over 6 figures on a 500 or so gallon tank

It's well known at least in our community (Las Vegas) that they don't do residential sized tanks.

You have to be a big spender to get their attention.

 

[coker98]

My wife and I both know the show is crap and they don't have a good reputation for long term systems, but the show still entertains her and she wanted to see their shop. We were not expecting much from the shop , but thought they might of had something set up at least showing off their work We definitely were not looking to buy anything for my tank from there, I could barely handle the 12 hour car ride home with 2 screaming kids. All in all, it was a good trip, the sharks at Mandalay bay was pretty awesome, the tanks at Bass Pro Shop were very good. We got to see family we haven't seen in years and we got to see the strip at night. I have been to Vegas several times and never drove down the strip.

Glad you enjoyed yourself. It a good city if you like the strip and all of its bustling glory. That's not my cup of tea but the casinos over there K ow how to throw a convention. I try to get to the cigar convention every year. The big smoke.