Tanked Inaccuracies

[Liquid360]

I love the show because I love aquariums and even can suspend disbelief due to the fact the new ones at least are scripted, but for some reason, this one bothers me. They were building a tank for Wyclef Jean. Wyclef and his wife requested a canary eel. The two wives on the show scramble to locate this "very, very rare and impossible to obtain eel". They of course locate one in the nick of time. I see these things for sale all the time. It took me under two minutes to locate a couple.

 

[Kershaw]

i have always been curious about fish sickness. it appears they put allot of fish in these tanks in a short period of time. they dont talk about QT allot of people loose there entire tank over ich or velvet. is there supplier better then the others out there, do they QT? or do half the fish die after filming

 

[CindyKz]

I love the show because I love aquariums and even can suspend disbelief due to the fact the new ones at least are scripted, but for some reason, this one bothers me. They were building a tank for Wyclef Jean. Wyclef and his wife requested a canary eel. The two wives on the show scramble to locate this "very, very rare and impossible to obtain eel". They of course locate one in the nick of time. I see these things for sale all the time. It took me under two minutes to locate a couple.

LOL I did this too, my husband and I sat there googling it on my phone while we watched. I am pretty sure we found the same ones you found, the prices are the same.

It is television....whoever put the words "reality" and "TV" in the same phrase clearly needs to rethink it. They are going for drama. If you are looking for facts, turn the TV off.

That show should have some sort of disclaimer though.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

i have always been curious about fish sickness. it appears they put allot of fish in these tanks in a short period of time. they dont talk about QT allot of people loose there entire tank over ich or velvet. is there supplier better then the others out there, do they QT? or do half the fish die after filming

One of the episodes was filmed at a restaurant near me. They had some tremendous amount of fish in the thing by the end of the shows episode, and by the time of the restaurant grand opening a few weeks later there was ONE fish left, all the others died. There was some drama because the restaurant wanted to use a more reputable local fish store to do the maintenance but the show made them use someone else due to contracts, etc.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Nineball, peters tank. Enough said.

http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/25322-1300-gal-tank-failure-Sad-day

No respect for these @&$ clowns.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Nineball, peters tank. Enough said.

http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/25322-1300-gal-tank-failure-Sad-day

No respect for these @&$ clowns.

I'll leave it at that.

That sucks! Yeah I watched 3 episodes and knew these guys were a joke. TV is sensationalized to attract viewers. Can't expect this show to be any different.

 

[Liquid360]

LOL I did this too, my husband and I sat there googling it on my phone while we watched. I am pretty sure we found the same ones you found, the prices are the same.

OMG that's so awesome!!! I feel much better now that I wasn't alone in doing this [emoji4]

 

[Dylan Grech]

I personally just watch the show as any other drama series. It's entertaining yes but please threat it as such.
Most of the advice given is 100% BS however they are very good tank builders so if I had the cash I would probably consider getting them to build the tank but only that.

I'm sure they understand the fish requirements but for TV sake they throw all that knowledge out to window and it's actually quite sad because it's almost cruel to see fish being placed in a tank and die after a few hours/days just because:

• Tank is not cycled
• Sometimes tap water is used
• Filtration in most cases is under sized
• In-compatible fish are put together with various excuses
• Quarantine is basically not existent
• ...

Thankfully they use fake coral for most of the tank build and I assume they do that because:

• Fake corals are more profitable for them
• Gives the tank a nice mature look from day one
• They understand most of the points above and know that any live coral will die pretty much instantly

 

[Flippers4pups]

I personally just watch the show as any other drama series. It's entertaining yes but please threat it as such.
Most of the advice given is 100% BS however they are very good tank builders so if I had the cash I would probably consider getting them to build the tank but only that.

I'm sure they understand the fish requirements but for TV sake they throw all that knowledge out to window and it's actually quite sad because it's almost cruel to see fish being placed in a tank and die after a few hours/days just because:

• Tank is not cycled
• Sometimes tap water is used
• Filtration in most cases is under sized
• In-compatible fish are put together with various excuses
• Quarantine is basically not existent
• ...

Thankfully they use fake coral for most of the tank build and I assume they do that because:

• Fake corals are more profitable for them
• Gives the tank a nice mature look from day one
• They understand most of the points above and know that any live coral will die pretty much instantly

Please don't take me wrong, because Peter's tank thread was legendary back then. I followed it from day one till the end. I'm assuming you haven't read what happened from my post. If you click on the link and from that link click on the RC link to Peter's build thread and read what happened, you will feel totally different about them building you a tank. They did him dirty and was completely unethical. I'll leave it at that.

His tank was amazing and like I said, legendary! Do yourself a favor and read his thread.

 

[Dylan Grech]

Please don't take me wrong, because Peter's tank thread was legendary back then. I followed it from day one till the end. I'm assuming you haven't read what happened from my post. If you click on the link and from that link click on the RC link to Peter's build thread and read what happened, you will feel totally different about them building you a tank. They did him dirty and was completely unethical. I'll leave it at that.

His tank was amazing and like I said, legendary! Do yourself a favor and read his thread.

WOW! I've seen his tank on youtube but never really followed it. Even Though when I said I would consider hiring them was put in there to drive my point as logistically it would be almost impossible due to the fact I live on the other side of the plant this thread completely changed my views on the guys.

It will probably take me a while to read the full thread but I did read a good chunk of it where Peter explained the disaster and I have to say that it is shameful at best that such a big company with so much experience can be so uncompassionate to a fellow hobbyist. I will follow on Peter's example and not get into business ethics or financials but I will say that I'm glad you posted your reply as it was an eye opener not just on ATM but also on how bad it can get.

My reef is still at it's very early stages with little to no life in it until I get everything setup but WOW! When I was thinking of backups I certainly wasn't planning for such disasters. Time to think bigger I guess.

Thanks again @Flippers4pups was a huge eye opener

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Those two guys are what gives our hobby a bad name.

 

[sheismynightlife]

I watched like 3 episodes a few months ago at a friends house and couldn't believe the crap that was on that show. Literally sat there wreathing in anger.

 

[Waters]

I guess it is possible at the time of filming they weren't available? I know the shows are filmed well in advance of airing.

 

[azreeftank]

I was just in Vegas a couple weeks ago and had just watched a new episode of the tank they had in the show going in the Stratosphere. The tank had skulls and stuff not my cup of tea but as far as the fish NONE of the fish from the show where alive. I talked to an employee at the store and he said all the fish were dead in the first week after the show aired. Achilles, purple tang Queen Angel And several others. It looks like they could care less about cycling a tank or QT. The tank I saw in person had blue damsels left and that's it.

 

[Liquid360]

I guess it is possible at the time of filming they weren't available? I know the shows are filmed well in advance of airing.

Nope, they're pretty readily available

 

[cjd]

I believe there is a 10 page contract that the client signs stating that they are responsible to relocate the fish after the reveal and reintroduce them one at a time when the tank is ready.... but who does that???? Definitely not someone who spent over a 100 thousand dollars on a tank , they want fish and loads of them . sadly these people have so much money they probably just continue replacing fish after fish . Its amazing seeing the compatibility issues of fish selection and I cant tell you how many times I see a close up of a fish that has white dots over their fins ..... WAS such a beautiful tank ....... Back when the show first aired I used to twitch when they would hook up that garden hose to a spigot and mix salt with tap water . Let'er Rip ...... Ya ...Rest In Peace fishies!!!

 

[Liquid360]

I saw an episode today where they actually showed the equipment! I gotta say, pretty nice setup. APEX even!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I believe there is a 10 page contract that the client signs stating that they are responsible to relocate the fish after the reveal and reintroduce them one at a time when the tank is ready.... but who does that???? Definitely not someone who spent over a 100 thousand dollars on a tank , they want fish and loads of them . sadly these people have so much money they probably just continue replacing fish after fish . Its amazing seeing the compatibility issues of fish selection and I cant tell you how many times I see a close up of a fish that has white dots over their fins ..... WAS such a beautiful tank ....... Back when the show first aired I used to twitch when they would hook up that garden hose to a spigot and mix salt with tap water . Let'er Rip ...... Ya ...Rest In Peace fishies!!!

This is why I said what I did earlier, about them being the reason our hobby gets a bad name.

 

[Eva Rose]

First of all, I wish shows would stop "dumbing down" information to their audience (whether it be adults or children). Kids love learning about science through living creatures. They get excited learning actual facts! Producers are foolish. I believe they would have much higher ratings with intelligent, factual shows. We could all definitely enjoy such programming. Something that both parents & their children could watch together.
I personally can't stand reality shows of any sort. Regarding this show, I do fast forward to see the fish clips. But the show promotes so much misinformation, that I feel guilty watching it. I especially feel sorry for clients who are placing their trust in a process that is so flawed.

 

[Liquid360]

Couldn't agree more!! If they did a science oriented aquarium show it would be amazing!

First of all, I wish shows would stop "dumbing down" information to their audience (whether it be adults or children). Kids love learning about science through living creatures. They get excited learning actual facts! Producers are foolish. I believe they would have much higher ratings with intelligent, factual shows. We could definitely enjoy such programming. Something that both parents & their children could watch together.
I personally can't stand reality shows of any sort. Regarding this show, I do fast forward to see the fish clips. But the show promotes so much misinformation, that I feel guilty watching it. I especially feel sorry for clients who are placing their trust in a process that is so flawed.