aquarium building tv show

[nickb144]

Hi. Wow just seen there is a new programme on tv tonight called Tanked. I live in London, England and just seen this advertised on my cable satellite tv supplier. Looks like its filmed in USA. Never watched this before. Anyone seen ? Think they are supposed to be transforming a pinball machine into an aquarium tonight. Incredible ! Or is that just silly...but cannot wait to find out...

 

[Fishanatic]

Hi. Wow just seen there is a new programme on tv tonight called Tanked. I live in London, England and just seen this advertised on my cable satellite tv supplier. Looks like its filmed in USA. Never watched this before. Anyone seen ? Think they are supposed to be transforming a pinball machine into an aquarium tonight. Incredible ! Or is that just silly...but cannot wait to find out...

Never saw it. I live in canada but we usually have most if not all the american channels and shows. Ill check it out on google though looks interesting.

 

[xstream]

It is currently on Netflix. I have seen all six episodes on there. They also turned a jukebox into an aquarium.

It is good. The family is from New York, but they moved to Las Vegas. They seem very knowledgeable and have a passion for what they do. If you have Netflix, check it out!

 

[nickb144]

If anyone wants to watch it from England its on Animal Planet TV tonight on Virgin Media cable. Cannot believe they turned a jukebox into an aquarium xstream. Unbelievable. How cool is that. Cannot wait for Christmas now....ha ha

 

[dmolavi]

There has been lots of discussion on line about the merits of this show. I watch it. I find it entertaining, and I like their creativity.

Most of the debate stirred around how they just dump fish into the tanks. Recently, you can see them mentioning cycling the tank, acclimating the fish, etc. Supposedly, this was added in because the ATM crew now have more say into what goes into the show, and they felt it is important to note how you can't just add water and fish and *boom* you have a tank.

I believe that Mr Saltwater has an interview with Brett from a show recently, and Brett acknowledges that it is entertainment (vs educational) which is why they are on Animal Planet vs Discovery (although, Discovery's programming has been blurring the line). His main point, though, is that they want people to become interested in the hobby, and how it is valuable for kids to learn to appreciate the diversity of fresh and saltwater fishes.

Again, I watch it, I like it, and I think it will do good things for this "hobby".

 

[FeldmansFish]

It's a decent show, the stuff they say is kind of cheesy but the tanks are amazing. They do more saltwater stuff than freshwater btw.

 

[ddodad]

I'm I Canada and love the show its on animal planet here. I've been watching it for a couple years (season 3 just started in us). That show was the reason I got back into the hobby

 

[germanyt]

Watch it all the time. It appears though that they just toss in fish for a few minutes for the camera. They never cycle a tank or acclimate fish on camera and it's pretty clear that enough time hasn't elapsed off camera to do so safely. IMO they must put the fish in for just long enough to get a shot of it then they remove the fish. I have seen them use actual ocean water for an immediate setup.

 

[azmodan]

whoops double post

 

[azmodan]

Considering their reputation and line of work I have assume they take a reasonable amount of precaution to make sure the fish are acclimated. It's pretty clear they know their stuff and I'm guessing for the sake of drama and entertainment (most people watching this show don't care about cycling and seeing fish acclimated) most of that stuff is just cut out. I have heard them talk about the importance of bacteria and have seen them use instant cycle stuff, but it's only touched upon in the actual show. They have a pretty large staff it seems that we don't really see much of, and I'm guessing a lot of that stuff is handled by them behind the scenes too. Ultimately I'm just glad it can give a wider audience a glimpse into this awesome hobby, even if it is through entertainment and not education. The rest (research) is up to the viewer.

Do you guys remember the feng shui episode? I realize that ATM's speciality is saltwater but did anyone else automatically hope they'd do an incredible iwagumi or natural aquascape type aquarium?

 

[RyanBenson]

I too watch tanked and I love it!! I've always wanted an aquarium but their show made me go out and buy one! Well, 2 since I just got my 55 gal! But I watch it almost everytime it comes on!

 

[GBHammbone]

I myself like the show and only really take it at entertainment value, but the following is a copy/paste of a post from MonsterFishKeepers on the shark tank at the dentists office.

00rollins said:
04-10-2012 10:31 PM
I know for a fact that tanked is fully staged BS. I was able to see the filming of the show in person. This season will air an episode were they build a tank into an orthodontics office in West Islip, NY. I was there. They built a ridiculously awesome tank that is actually built into the building, i mean it cant be removed part of the structure. So filming day they are all there sitting around all day doing nothing while hired help fills this gigantic tank for hours. They provide written script to the doctor as he has to react on camera to the tank. Then re-shot all the the scenes several times, completely false from start to finish, not reality TV just acted like anything else on TV. Not the worst, they always talk about acclimation, this was a salt water shark tank, they threw thousands of dollars worth of fish into this tank without any acclimation at all. Several nice sized sharks and a ton of other salt water fish that should not have been with the sharks. Within 48 hours only 2 fish were left alive a small shark blinded by bashing himself into the wall of the tank and a large nurse shark that almost burst from eating so many dead fish. It was a horror show. The doctor had to pay for all the fish. The tank is free from the show. Seriously disturbing what so called fish lovers will do for money and fame. The filters were not even ready to be used these guys filmed and walked out fish started dying within hours. These guys are scum.


If this is true, it is probably why they started talking more about filtration, bacteria and acclimating fish properly.

 

[dmolavi]

I think in the first 2 seasons, Animal Planet had main control over everything, and it was their way or the highway. Now that ATM has some control, they can show things a little more accurately.

Do people want to watch drip acclimation or show a tank cycle for weeks? Nope. That's boring TV.

I was on a "reality" show a while back, documenting issues my wife went through during and after pregnancy. Since the issues were resolved when they filmed, yes, it was all scripted. The field producer, though, was at least nice enough to let us fill in the blanks around the template they had.

 

[owen0992]

I love that show! Wish they had more on netflix. No worries on them being acclimated. The guys acclimate them at their facilities between buying the fish and putting them in. The fish come in the water they were acclimated in and that same water is put into the tank.