Opinions on the tv show "tanked"

[Datnerd14]

Is it me or do some of the tanks shown looked overstocked

And does anyone know how they acclimate the fish

And I know they have a product that contains a large amount of "good bacteria"but if they use that and introduce all those fish at one couldn't that cause the cycle to stall or crash

 

[JSchwarz]

They overstock them for the show and then intend for most of them to be pulled out. There have been owners that didn't do this and had issues.

This article has some good info:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Low-survival-rate-for-Tanked-fish-5487950.php

"shipped in seawater, flew in live cultures of bacteria and used seeded bio-balls to kick-start the tank's bacteria levels."

"All the fish you see for filming, typically, a big percentage are pulled out and either reintroduced slowly or kept out"

 

[Flippers4pups]

They are not experts on fish, corals and inverts. They are business men that build aquariums (I use that term loosely) and have a T.V. Show that has to get ratings to stay on the air.

Don't take what you see on face value. Its most likely fake.

They do set the hobby in a bad light and have had some epic unethical business practices in the past.

Case in point: nineballs tank crash.
Look up "Peters tank" on the internet. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Centerline]

We have a restaurant in town that has one of their custom tanks. Its a work of art. BUT they also have a professional who maintains it.

 

[4FordFamily]

It's entertaining enough I guess

 

[Big G]

If it attracts new people to the hobby that's great! But if they are misleading people, and we have seen a few here on the forums, in bad need of help, because they thought it was "easy" and "quick" to setup a new tank, well that's a different story. Those of us with a long background in fish keeping, understand, but for those uninformed viewers that don't know any better, that's not so great. That's why places like this R2R are so valuable. Especially R2R where there is no such thing as a "silly question." We do a service to folks by giving them our experience in real life.

 

[brett_schn]

Agreed with all the above. It’s a cool show but they leave out corals because 1 it costs too much 2 the tanks aren’t ready and 3 I feel like they are lazy about it.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Agreed with all the above. It’s a cool show but they leave out corals because 1 it costs too much 2 the tanks aren’t ready and 3 I feel like they are lazy about it.

Most people don't know the difference between living coral and fake. To them it just looks "pretty ". I've had people look at my tank and ask "is that real?", looking at my corals. When I say yes, most say "wow!"

Deception, perception is to them all about ratings. Not the hobbyists, the welfare of the animals or the future of the hobby. It's about a "quick" buck. It's the underbelly of the hobby and does nobody any good, except them.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I'm pretty sure some of the episodes would kill aptasia.

 

[reefwiser]

The show is entertainment and has nothing to do with aquarium keeping. The tanks that are featured on the show end up being dead traps for the fish they put in the tanks after the lights go off and the cameras leave. There have been many threads on what happens to "Tanked" aquariums.

 

[Jlentz]

It's reality tv. Does anything else need to be said?

Fwiw, I've not run into any of them at any of the local swaps/trades/get togethers. I know of one guy that bought one of those tanks from a restaurant that closed and he said it was a nightmare. (And the restaurant paid a stupid amount of $$$$$$ for it.)

 

[chefjpaul]

They're great fabricators, but shouldn't be in the ecosystems business

 

[ReeferBob]

They are a couple of morons. I especially can't stand the pig-nosed one. All playing for the camera hoping to become celebrities. The high-school antics are quite annoying. I suffered through maybe 2 1/2 episodes before I decided it was not the show for me.

 

[hart24601]

Talked to them once at MACNA years ago when show came out. Wayde said there are parts of the TV show they don't like, and stocking and other parts of the show don't really happen like they edit the program as they have to put everything in one episode for TV, but realistically they were getting a million bucks a year plus exposure and more sales so they take the good with the bad. As a business owner they can't turn down that sort of money just because it wasn't the best representation.

 

[Greybeard]

Show is about interpersonal relationships in a small family business... has little to do with aquariums. Some nice looking acrylic boxes there, for certain, but anyone trying to DIY a tank after watching that show is in for real trouble. Honestly, would you want too? Bio ball towers and molded plastic corals? I'll pass, thanks.

 

[Big G]

Talked to them once at MACNA years ago when show came out. Wayde said there are parts of the TV show they don't like, and stocking and other parts of the show don't really happen like they edit the program as they have to put everything in one episode for TV, but realistically they were getting a million bucks a year plus exposure and more sales so they take the good with the bad. As a business owner they can't turn down that sort of money just because it wasn't the best representation.

They should run a crawler on the bottom of the screen with a disclaimer informing their viewers that the show is heavily edited and time compressed. Truth is best.

 

[hart24601]

They should run a crawler on the bottom of the screen with a disclaimer informing their viewers that the show is heavily edited and time compressed. Truth is best.

Perhaps they should, I am not trying to speak for them or defend the show, but I would imagine such things are out of their hands by a good margin. How many reality shows on TV are true? They are all heavily scripted and edited to show whatever the producers deem is good for ratings. And from the shows perspective people trying to emulate ATM tanks or systems on the show are dropping tens of thousands of dollars and having a 3rd party (ATM) handle everything with the tanks. I have not seen many episodes but I don't remember them every really covering equipment (like skimmers) or care of the livestock which IMO is better them trying to cram that into the show as the viewer must get that information from other sources such as reef2reef.

 

[sundog101]

;Facepalm- my opinion on the show

 

[cdmckinzie]

I can't stand Brett and if I had to listen to Heathers voice all day I'd probably kill myself. I really dont like their fake coral either, its so ugly. But it's a show for kids really, any adult who buys a tank just because they watched a "reality" TV show has no brains. But I have heard Wade tell people they need to hire maintenence at $1 per gallon per month. That's alot of money. If people want a tank they should learn how to take care of it properly. I also think the Tanked guys should have fish experts on the show to give real information on fish. They put some fish together that I question whether they'd be good in the same tank.

 

[Fish Hooky]

Also the water the use is cycled while they build the aquarium. The process of an aquarium being built is very long they just make it seem short with tv magic.