Tanked on Animal Planet

[fishfry]

Thx for that post. Makes me feel better too. I guess regardless of whether we like the show, don't like the show or could care less either way we have to agree that it brings attention to and possibly creates interest in the hobby. All of us that decided to setup tanks at some point made the effort to educate ourselves. We learn (and are constantly learning) what and what not to do. Before I started all I knew was I wanted a clown trigger a few crabs and a couple of clown fish, (in the same tank of course). We all know that wouldn't have worked out so well. I'm not sure we need to worry so much about the wrong message it may appear their sending . If people are serious about starting their own systems I'm confident they'll do their homework. That email just confirms what we already know, television is very different form real life . In short I think the exposure is great for the hobby.

 

[Aquaman_68]

its cool

 

[littlefish09]

A 57,000 gal tank in a church!!! Holy crap!!

 

[cps68500]

yeah... I can see some debate / 'heated' discussions on this... that is a lot of collection plates.

 

[animal877]

OMG watching it right now the BEST show ever!! although they make my 55 gallon reef tank look like a goldfish bowl!! hahaha but its a really cool show!

 

[saltwaterB]

I was wondering when a thread like this was going to pop up.... I am sure they have a large amount of Fish loss, especially considering their souce for the Fish...
But yes, when money is not an object, almost anything can be done. And a FO tank overcrowded is actually a very easy thing to acomplish on a commercial level. As they mentioned in the email, when you do it that way you have to be on top of it every day, and there are tons of Bacterial agents to assist in cycleing and stabalizing the water parameters. But as mentioned, these methods are not recommended for the home hobbyist.
Personally I think they are pushing the limit quite a bit, but they are in Vegas and it is a TV show.

 

[stingythingy45]

I missed it.It's in the same time frame as Man Woman Wild.

 

[inverted]

The tanks could be cool if cycled properly but IMO they are just abusing animals.

They are cycled properly. I have not read all the posts, so, I apologize if someone already mentioned this... Anyways, it's my understanding that they use bioball filtration and pre-filter the bioballs. In other words, they have big tubs of bioballs, constantly cycling, so, they can just take some and set up a tank. Many tank maintenance companies do this, or something equivalent. All you need is the filtration media to have sufficient bacterial colonization, this can certainly be done ahead of time in the shop.

I think the amount of fish and selection of fish is another question though, they definitely have no respect for livestock IMO. The use of tapwater, isn't great, but for a FO, it's not really that bad. Probably gives them more maintenance contracts in the future, removing algae LOL.

 

[saltwaterB]

yeah, the fact that they use tap water and mix salt in right before adding fish blows my mind.....

But yes pre-cycled bio media and a ton of biological additives is the only way they could pull it off. And as I said I am sure they have a ton of losses, but just replace the fish. I can imagine that at the price they are charging for the Fish they can afford to raplace them 4 times over and still make a good profit.
Not very ethical...but then again what in Vegas is....lol

 

[nicks387]

This has nothing to do with the show or the guys at ATM. Just a bit of info on that church tank. That thing cost the church 4.5 million dollars. You have any idea how many families in need in that community that money could have helped? Awesome tank but if I was a member of that church I would find a new one to go to. The pastor probably drives a Bugatti. God bless.

 

[animal877]

also i want to see the episode next friday because thats when you go from cool tanks to really meaningful tanks. i mean there building a tank so when a kid comes home from open heart surgery he can lay in his bed and look up at it! thats AWSOM!!

 

[Turbosnail]

They are cycled properly. I have not read all the posts, so, I apologize if someone already mentioned this... Anyways, it's my understanding that they use bioball filtration and pre-filter the bioballs. In other words, they have big tubs of bioballs, constantly cycling, so, they can just take some and set up a tank. Many tank maintenance companies do this, or something equivalent. All you need is the filtration media to have sufficient bacterial colonization, this can certainly be done ahead of time in the shop.

I think the amount of fish and selection of fish is another question though, they definitely have no respect for livestock IMO. The use of tapwater, isn't great, but for a FO, it's not really that bad. Probably gives them more maintenance contracts in the future, removing algae LOL.

I have already gotten the info that they are using pre-cycled stuff and have commented on that. I also commented that I feel better knowing that they are not just dumping fish into uncycled water. As mentioned in some of the above posts this show is for entertainment not education so you are not seeing all of the behind scenes maintenance and husbandry and if I could remove my comment above I would. I was just having a bad week with the power being out and everything. I am sorry for jumping to conclusions.

 

[reefkeeper2]

The show is very entertaining but I have to confess I sometimes feel very sorry for the fish. The unfortunate consequence is that aquariums are turned into pieces of furniture or accessories for your decor. Although they must be doing things right, the puplic does not get the impression that the welfare of the animals has much consideration.The episode where they made a tank out of a jukebox I found the most disturbing. There is nothing wrong with giving a theme to the outside of a tank. But I know the fish are stressed living with the odd stuff they put in them that is so alien compared to their natural environment. The keg tank falls in the same catagory. Cool on the outside, ugly on the inside. I hope they can use their new found celebrity to do some good for the animals and the hobby.

 

[littlefish09]

On a side note that is kinda unrelated to the tank setups they do was a comment i heard them say last night about the anglers they were feeding. If i heard right they said that "anglers have the fastest feeding strike in the world". I think my friend in my avatar pic would have something to say about that.

 

[BrianMac]

It's an intersting show to watch. But I pesonally believe that it's only going to create more frustrated newbies and issues for the pet shop workers/owners.

When they made the phone booth aquarium. The only thing that I was thinking was how the heck are they goileing to clean that tank. I would like to hear the comments of the owners of that tank now that they have had it for a while

 

[reefsane88]

1 its not informational 2 they are here for entertainment , so exactly how many of us would watch it if they were preaching about things we already know , i wouldnt .
3 they do not care about the fish but rather the aquarium they are building and its theme and impression towards the customer ,(thats were they probly make the most money ).
over all i feel they are doing ok not great but not bad cus i can actually watch the show ,and we actually have a show that has to do with fish other than rivermonsters and murcy water ughh or hillbilly hand fishing lol, but beutiful fish angels the tangs ive seen in the tanks are huge and awesome looking so we can givem some credit especially when the next show is about the kid with the open heart surgery .

 

[jimrawr]

The show is very entertaining but I have to confess I sometimes feel very sorry for the fish. The unfortunate consequence is that aquariums are turned into pieces of furniture or accessories for your decor. Although they must be doing things right, the puplic does not get the impression that the welfare of the animals has much consideration.The episode where they made a tank out of a jukebox I found the most disturbing. There is nothing wrong with giving a theme to the outside of a tank. But I know the fish are stressed living with the odd stuff they put in them that is so alien compared to their natural environment. The keg tank falls in the same catagory. Cool on the outside, ugly on the inside. I hope they can use their new found celebrity to do some good for the animals and the hobby.

I agree with you 100%

 

[dcforester1]

I think they are doing something right. They have their own show, and I am sure they are not posting about our methods. It's pretty obvious it's for TV. These people have alot of money to throw at their tanks, and I am sure they have someone out there taking care of these. By the size of the business I think they have a pretty good understanding on how a tank works. Plenty of people have tanks with canisters and wet/drys. Remember there is more than one way to skin a cat.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.432340,-71.075792

 

[inverted]

I have already gotten the info that they are using pre-cycled stuff and have commented on that. I also commented that I feel better knowing that they are not just dumping fish into uncycled water. As mentioned in some of the above posts this show is for entertainment not education so you are not seeing all of the behind scenes maintenance and husbandry and if I could remove my comment above I would. I was just having a bad week with the power being out and everything. I am sorry for jumping to conclusions.

Whoops sorry.... I should have read all the posts... This show has been discussed to death though, I just couldn't do it LOL. A lot of people think they are not cycling though, so, seemed worth pointing out...

 

[Renato]

This has nothing to do with the show or the guys at ATM. Just a bit of info on that church tank. That thing cost the church 4.5 million dollars. You have any idea how many families in need in that community that money could have helped? Awesome tank but if I was a member of that church I would find a new one to go to. The pastor probably drives a Bugatti. God bless.

+1 on that