Does "Tanked" or "Fish tank kings" bug anybody else?

[Jadub]

The thing that's get me the most about the show is the terrible acting job of the two main idiots. I want to watch for the tanks and fish not to see some unfunny pranks or terrible acting


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[big b]

They should put a warning that average people can not do what they do right after ever commercial.

 

[RedDevil83]

Sad part is that there isn't any actual shows that I know of that are educational anymore, that's why alot of people turn to youtube.

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[brennae]

Marineland has a division that propagates the proper bacteria for salty tanks so that they can be immediately cycled. It costs big bucks and I'm not sure if it's just for Coldwater salt tanks or if they cover tropical too. my friends husband works in this division and they service a lot of restaurants that wan't lobster tanks and such. Being that I don't know much about saltwater I could be missing a few details. Basically he works in a lab and grows marine bacteria all day. So I'm wondering if the people on these shows are utilizing stuff like this?

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[fish wrangler]

Marineland has a division that propagates the proper bacteria for salty tanks so that they can be immediately cycled. It costs big bucks and I'm not sure if it's just for Coldwater salt tanks or if they cover tropical too. my friends husband works in this division and they service a lot of restaurants that wan't lobster tanks and such. Being that I don't know much about saltwater I could be missing a few details. Basically he works in a lab and grows marine bacteria all day. So I'm wondering if the people on these shows are utilizing stuff like this?

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I thought I saw a video where they showed huge trickle towers with bio balls, and when they set up a tank they used these cycled bio balls. They might do a combination of both though.

 

[Andy Sager]

While I am not a huge fan of either of these shows, ( and I knew the guys from Fish Tank Kings years ago) some of the arguments expressed here are not really practical. For example, Live corals vs the artificial inserts: Live corals demand much more attention and machinery than the fake inserts for one and the fish selection that can go into the tank with live corals goes way down as well. When you dealing with such a large tank, it's not really practical to load it with just the few species that are okay with them. Most of the larger more colorful fish ( such as the Angelfish and Butterflies they tend to stock) would eat or nip at the corals. So the inserts can color up the tank and give a "natural" appearance and give the new owners less things to deal with with the tanks.
As for cycling, they have explained in some episodes that the sand they use is live sand for cycling purposes and they use another product, which I saw on their website, to assist the bacteria bed. This is really not much different than using pieces of filter material from a cycled tank or filter and moving it to another tank. Instant cycled tank. Yes, this works even on a larger scale as I've cycled 2500 gal systems with rolls of material from existing systems. So while it's an issue that they don't explain the process on every episode, it's not an issue for the tanks.

I'm not going to pick on or defend/ explain every issue expressed but just to say that it's television. If you wanted to watch real educational shows about marine or aquatic life, you should be watching channels like the Discovery Channel or the Learning Channel or even PBS. Those show educational programming while tanked and FTK are entertainment shows. If you are watching them for any other reason, that's really on you, not them.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Spirit Hawk]

True, some of these things they quite simply don't say on the show, but when they just make it look like all you have to do is add water and immediately add fish, that is what people think Is standard in the industry.

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[Spirit Hawk]

:sly:

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[Spirit Hawk]

And yes, I do like the fish documentaries on national go wild

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[Andy Sager]

True, some of these things they quite simply don't say on the show, but when they just make it look like all you have to do is add water and immediately add fish, that is what people think Is standard in the industry.

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However, they do routinely say words like "Cycling", "Get along well together", "Acclimate" and "co-habitate". Also, they routinely discuss using chillers for tanks in hot areas and heaters for cold. And realistically, most of those tanks cost way more than probably anyone viewing this site has the ability to pay but for them it's standard because money is not an issue for their cliantel. So they don't try to make do with scrimping on glass or acrylic thickness, lower cost or DIY filters and the like. They do discuss lighting on tanks with live freshwater plants, just not in detail. But again, these shows are not about the detail. If someone watching them goes into a shop and says "I want what I just saw on TANKED", they would probably not go through with it once they heard what was really involved. It's like everything else you see on TV, it all looks easy until you get down to the nuts and bolts of making it happen. I was in the industry for over 40 years and industry "standards" change all the time. Many standards I used 30 years ago don't apply today. We are dealing today with different fish because most of the fish are man made, not wild. But again, this is for entertainment not education. Look at all the other types of shows that are similar in style to these 2: House crashers, Pond kings, Tree house masters, Diggers, Bering Sea Gold, etc. Do you think people watch them and say to themselves "I can do that" until they find out what is really involved? There is a reason why the TV was once referred to as "the boob tube." It's because it wasn't designed to make you think, it was there to entertain and sell products. That's all these shows are supposed to do. Entertain. Don't take them so seriously.

 

[Spirit Hawk]

You're right, but it still bugs me, and it probably won't stop. But yes, you're right.

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[Andy Sager]

You're right, but it still bugs me, and it probably won't stop. But yes, you're right.

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So don't let it. Focus your energy on better things ....like better aquarium husbandry

 

[spoonman]

Being from Vegas and seeing some these tanks first hand, many have failed and been removed.

 

[Beej1254]

I don't watch tv anymore because when I do I constantly think of how its a bunch of bull. It's funny because I have a really nice tv on one end of my living room and then my reef tank in progress on the other end. While everyone is sitting one way watching tv I'm sitting the other watching my tank lol. TV is mindless entertainment and a huge waste of time in my eyes and I don't take any show seriously if I happen to watch one.

 

[whalekid]

People don't exactly watch that show for aquarium advice though. It is designed purely for entertainment. I feel like Fish Tank Kings shows more consideration for that animals than Tanked does. Tanked is all about the crazy unnatural themes of the tanks me what they can put inside of them to make the tanks look better. I'm sure animal welfare is certainly considered off screen though.

 

[whalekid]

Sea World actually has some systems in their education classrooms behind the scenes that ATM made. Not all of their tanks are insane. Actually I was pretty jealous of these systems tbh

 

[brennae]

Here's the thing. MARINELAND ' S parent company sells saltwater bio material so that these sorts of tanks are instantly cycled. My friend and her husband work at the plant and he actually works in the lab. I agree the shapes of some of the tanks are ridiculous and not healthy or practical but I don't believe this all occurs in the short time span they claim it does.

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[whalekid]

Ya. If anything they set it up and stock it in that short time then take the fish back to atm and keep them in holding tanks until the tank is actually ready.

 

[big b]

They actually put hats into a tank. I wonder how the fish felt about having a hat in their home.

 

[Beej1254]

Does "Tanked" or "Fish tank kings" bug anybody else?

I've been watching Tanked a lot over the past couple of days sense I messed up my foot. Some of these tanks are insane and some just make me wonder how long they would actually run for. Like the drum set?

I really love the lighthouse tank they made in the casino but I seriously doubt they took any of those fish back out to let the tank setup and hold the fish for these clients. A huge reason would be they are based in Las Vegas and these clients are all over the U.S. not to mention how many fish they put into the system. I'd love to actually hear how exactly they get the system running so quickly especially because they always talk about the well-being of the fish.