"Tanked" Poor Example

[schristi69]

I would hope so... for the sake of the 123 or something fish he "wanted". Besides, how would you properly light a reef tank that deep? I know metal halides won't reach that, I think 30" or something max for the 400 watt bulbs, not sure though.

Because they are not building reef tanks. All of the corals are fake. These are fish only tanks.

 

[khowst]

Whether it claims to be educational or not doesn't matter in the least. Many people watching are going to run out and buy the bare minimum and slam it together, before they ever open a book.
There's always going to be people who, on a whim, get a 10 gallon tank and then overstock it with too many fish. I concede that it already happens. This show is just encouraging more people to do that.

When everything dies off, it's bad for the fish and bad for the hobby because then people get discouraged and quit.

I hate to be the beaer of bad news but from what I have seen quite the contrary is true in my area. I have asked LFS both in St. Louis, MO and Springfield, MO (about 10 LFS in total between them) and none of them have had any new constomers running in ready to get "Tanked". If fact the only discussion they have even had generated in thier stores about the show is by regulars talking about it.

I'm sure it may happen somewhere at sometime but I am sure there is alot more 'make a buck' bad practice LFS' out there that sell to people just cause they can regardless of livestock/tank size, level of buyer expertise, etc.

 

[coralnut99]

am I the only one that has a problem with a 57,000 gallon tank at a church???????????? Do something for people in need instead of building a church around a 4.7 million dollar aquarium!!!

Some Churches need to "bury money" too.

 

[Spaced Cowboy]

Right now I am watching the show. A couple years back they built a 57,000 gallon tank for a church. There are over 600 fish including tangs, triggers, rays, hogfish, and sharks.

Really ? 57 kG and only 600 fish ? That's almost 100G of water per fish!

I know typically you'll see "Tang XXX: minimum tank size 125G" or whatever, but that's more to do with swimming room than any serious requirement for 125 gallons of water just to itself. I'm reasonably certain a 57,000 gallon tank will have plenty of swimming room.

Now some fish (sharks, rays) are going to require a *lot* of swimming room, but it seems to me they have it, there. I have no idea what size the tank is, but it must be pretty darn big, unless it's *incredibly* tall, that is...

So leaving aside the swimming volume requirements, how many 100G tanks have a single solitary fish in them ? Not that many, I'd think.

Simon.

 

[davocean]

I think I was about 10 minutes into this show and found it unwatchable.
Really says something when a fish geek can't watch a show designed supposedly for fish geeks.
How do you accidentally run hot water into a tank, add ice cubes from tap to cool it down LOWER than normal temp, then add a bunch of fish and take this stuff seriously??:worried2:

 

[kentlighting]

Drug dealers have nice cars and houses as well. They must be doing something right too??

QUOTE]

one was arrested for drug dealing a few years back i believe

 

[captnslapy]

Drug dealers have nice cars and houses as well. They must be doing something right too??

You people can defend the show all you want. Some of us have been there and done that, and know what's feasible and what isn't. I've seen threads on here that go pages long concerning the well being of one tang in a smallish sized tank. Why is there surprise that people want to discuss this show given the scale of what they're doing!?

The water from any source probably isn't that big of a deal since they're only doing fish only. I don't know how they avoid a massive cycle once they leave. You have to assume they put some serious filtration on these tanks to handle the huge bio-load. I'd still think they would have problems with die offs though.

Wow now you're comparing them to drug dealers. Are you kidding me? It's a fake show on tv. Get a clue. If you don't like it, don't watch. It's that simple. But by all this moaning and groaning, you're just giving them free advertisement. Guess maybe they should thank you.

 

[Phishguy]

I only watch it for the red head.. Don't know why but I got a thing for her..
It is a cheesy tv show and they are fish only tanks. I'm sure a lot more goes on "behind the scenes" to care for the tanks.

 

[bdwilson]

Did you see the episode tonight? They did do a reef tank and filled it with coral and fish right away:headwalls:

 

[pbnj]

Ooh, mama....that 12ft Feng Shui Reef Tank....gimme, gimme.

 

[HndMafia]

Did you see the episode tonight? They did do a reef tank and filled it with coral and fish right away:headwalls:

And the kid's tank had TWO Copperbanded Butterfly's in it...I thought no one could successfully keep Copperbands together.

I agree it is an un'reality' tv show made for entertainment, but..........:headwally:

 

[walvis]

I felt sorry seeing the copper bands and also achilles added to the system.
These home owners have no clue what there up to.
Just sad, a waste of $ and animal life...

 

[MidMichiganReef]

I found the show unwatchable because it is uneventful and slow. If you dont like their methods then go buy their company and do it your way.

 

[bamf25]

Very simply the tanks look amazing with all those fish right form the start. I wish I could keep that many fish that quickly in my tank. Realistically they will have major filtration, ammonia, and death issues putting that many fish in those size tanks that quickly. Unfortunately, it is very simply they want the wow value of that first reveal, that makes the buyer think they got their money worth. For them it is cheeper (and likely better for business) to collect the paycheck, and correct the problems later. Thus it seems like they have good customer service. So sorry that fish died, we will replace it at no cost, sounds good to the buyer. What they fail to see is the loses were already paid for in the purchase price and/or service charges.

I think what we see on the surface looks bad. They are clearly ignoring stocking amounts, reccomended tank sizes, QT, and proper cycling practices. Now there are ways to "quick" cycle a tank, like using very well cured pre established live rock, and well aged water. This way them establishing a tank is more akin to moving or upgrading a tank, and we know that can be done quickly. If they had a 400g tank with a hidden sump with 400 lbs of established live rock, and brought a tanker truck of establish salt water. You could get a tank up very quickly, especially a FOWLR. Unfortunately, none of that can be seen on the show, and the filtreation systems seen looke more like a skimmer, UV, and cheical filtration system, not a sump system.

 

[BBraker]

You guys seem to think the show is real. It's reality TV, no where near true reality. Get over it, you see what the editors and producers thought was entertaining.

Jeff

I agree - same as with ANY of these shows. I was dead set to pan this show when I first saw the previews. I've seen every episode now, and I'm gradually changing my opinion - it is what it is - a reality show that isn't based on reality, just like all the others.

Tanked is much better than those swamp shows where they kill alligators, or the fishing shows where they SAY they release the fish alive, but we know that Arapaima and billfish often die at the end of a line. The "Swordfish - life on the line" show NEVER showed how many mako and blue sharks are killed for each swordfish caught. And don't get me started on "Bug Wars" - really? staging battles between arthropods for a T.V. show? Talk about gladatorial excess! I don't see any ethical difference between dog fighting and putting a centipede in a cage with a scorpion.


BTW: did you all catch a glimpse of Joe Y's 20,000 gallon reef last night? They should have given that more air time.



Bill

 

[Reefir]

I would love to have a job doing tank maintinence for their customers , there would be no lack of work or money . i would be rich just trying to get the tanks cleaned . I am sure they pay a huge monthly fee to keep it looking nice .

 

[Sanveann]

I'm a total newb (as in, my husband and I set up our first SW tank yesterday), but I have to admit I'm glad that I'm not the only one seeing some of the craziness in this show! The phonebooth one particularly threw me for a loop.

 

[redddogg69]

Remember that this is a half hour show, the target audience is not your average "ReefCentral" member. We might like to watch a two hour show where they put in 3 fish a month, however Joe Public would get bored and change the channel. ATM i doubt has much control over the editing of each episode and the network needs to keep people watching. Myself as a high end installer (for the past 8 years, and a lifelong aquarist) think this show is entertaining and shows what can be done in the market of high-end public display tanks. K folks flame away i can take it

 

[mistaflicksta]

Tanked on animal planet has stirred up alot of controversy on Reef Central. I personally like the show and understand that the show is just for enetertainment. Not everything that goes on in the intallation process can be put on TV.

Here is an interview with mr saltwater tank . com

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_WM2clRnr58" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[RealReef7]

http://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/main/ full interview