Cycling & Show "Tanked"!

[sergiotami]

Wife and I love the show "Tanked" mainly because its the only show that deals w the aquarium hobby. A question We have is, how do they get around "Cycling" a fish tank or reef tank? My understanding as was w my 90 gallon that its about a 6 week process w Lots of patience!

[Big_Pun]

i set my 150 up in 2 days... I used new sand(only 1 1/2 inches) all rock was from my existing tank or LFS, I used tap water and prime,but ran a good carbon and gfo at start. I set up plumbed and filled it up, in 24 hours water cleared and I transferred most of the coral and all fish. got a lil diatom bloom after 4 days, then settled down. didn't loose a fish or coral!

[johnsutter71]

They dump a bunch of chemicals in the tanks on that show and they never do follow ups to show which fish didn't make it.

[Flyride95]

^ +1 That is exactly what I was thinking.

[Big_Pun]

but we don't know for sure fish die...... I think they know what they are doing if they are that successful? they set up huge system I doubt the water gets dirty fast, in sure there life support system are top notch.

[johnsutter71]

I just remember a show where they turned a juke box into a tank and put a bunch of tangs in it. They also use a lot of fake coral.

[EpicWin]

I've been doing this a while now and have probly cycled 20 tanks. I'm also a biologist. I think they must either put cycled sand in the sump, which they never really show, or use some type of fuge. I have noticed in cycling my tanks that cycles are always different and in truth a rank actually has many cycles not just 1 bug one. For the poster above who is 4 days in without a cycle, it is coming my friend, it is inevitable. Just hope it's multiple small cycles not 1 big.

[Big_Pun]

IFor the poster above who is 4 days in without a cycle, it is coming my friend, it is inevitable. Just hope it's multiple small cycles not 1 big.
I set the tank up in march, so I guess it was small cycles, didn't loose a single fish or coral. tank was setup with 20 fish and a varitey of coral, sps,softie,LPS, rbta set up two other tanks same way no issues.

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?69420-Chris-and-Emilys-150-gallon(new-pics-6-7)

[Ms_Big_Pun]

I'm sure these people pay good money for someone to come and maintain their systems...considering how they are dropping 10, 15, 20+ grand on these set ups...and if they do loose some fish, who doesn't in this hobby? I know I've had some hard losses myself, esp. when I had the 75 set up.

[sergiotami]

I'll be setting up a new tank in the near future and my understanding was to set it up, lights off and let it run for about 6 weeks w a damsel or a piece of live rock to get process going. Am I being too cautious or what would be the best way to go about doing this?

[350gt]

I can't stand the show, although I did like that huge one they did in a casino.. Just for its size and the way they brought in ocean water directly from the bay....

[Gseclipse02]

I remember when the show came out and I worked at a shop every one thought they could just add stuff like it was nothing ..... I'm sure these people r spending 30k plus and a thousand in wasted fish isn't to big of a deal for the costumer you can't really have that big of a tank with that many people looking at it and expect them to cycle it naturally

[KING]

I'll be setting up a new tank in the near future and my understanding was to set it up, lights off and let it run for about 6 weeks w a damsel or a piece of live rock to get process going. Am I being too cautious or what would be the best way to go about doing this?
i was wondering about this too.iv seen some one do it this way an started my 60 cube like this, but after 30 days i turned on the lighting .An thats when my tank broke out>? i was thinking that i was pass all that..lol idk..

[Scutterborn]

I still have yet to see this show...


- Ben -

[LuckySingh]

it is just a TV show guys not an educational show.....i guess maybe they r just promoting and commercializing this aquarium industry a bit more...whose knows even getting funded by these big distributors

[Gseclipse02]

Any publicity is good for this hobby IMO helps out all the fish stores

[klwheat]

Well, I'll bite here. I watched the most recent episode saturday night. On that show, the mentioned the "live sand" that they use, which advertises itself as full of bacteria in water in the bag (yes, they do have water in them when you buy them...that's what I used to start mine). They also add a substantial amount of bottled bacteria to see the rockwork they use. This "should" produce what is needed...at least temporarily. In essense, the "cycle" is just the production and propagation of bacteria in the rock/sand. If they start with it...there should be no need to wait.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Are you kiddin me. Those guys and gals are kool. They have 1 hour to build how many monster tanks?>?> WOW. killer show. More people buy fish tanks because of them. Rock ON.
Come to my house and tank it out. My wife wont say no then.:shades:

[rrasco]

i was wondering about this too.iv seen some one do it this way an started my 60 cube like this, but after 30 days i turned on the lighting .An thats when my tank broke out>? i was thinking that i was pass all that..lol idk..

Tank needs lights to go through the normal stages of the cycle; diatoms, HA, etc. I cycled my tank for about 8 weeks without lights (was still building them), but it was only when I added light did I get the rest of the cycle. The bacteria will colonize, but there is no way for the excess nutrients in the water to be used up in the other stages without light.

I was just watching the round vault shark tank and they put in all the fish right after they added the 'bacteria'. Shovelnose and a smoothhound in that tiny cylinder BTW. So long as there is a maintenance plan, WCs are performed, and waste levels don't get to toxic levels the fish will be fine. However, the way these guys do it is definitely not the hobby 'standard'. Of course, these guys are not in the hobby like we are. Personally I'm not into the whole novelty tank idea either. Gumball machines, jukeboxes, and cheesy safes? No thanks.

[mkengr45]

I stand by my earlier post....the show sucks, and the idiots shown are the reason I do not watch it.

[KING]

lol its just a show..an no matter what any of us think or say the show is still going to be on an ppl are going to love it..i look at it to see the tanks..not really the fish or care. ..but some of there tanks are bad a**..like the one they made for the kid..
we all lose fish an (( corals ))...

[ElChicano]

It is what it is. Everthing has its pros and cons. The one thing this show is doing, regardless of how stupid they act on the show. Is an intrest. Im no expert but since the show I have been approched by coworkers and family asking about setting up a tank. Which just end up getting scared when I mention the cost of live rock.. ( You paid how much for ROCK!!!! ) The show is for entertainment. I dont think animal planet would like the ratings of a show, where they spend 6 to 8 weeks starring at a empty tank, watching a guy with test tubes waiting for the cycle to finish. On the negative side , there will be those that will run out and setup a tank only to have everything die. On the same note ,Im sure there will be those that do their homework and enjoy the hobby as much as we do.

[Big_Pun]

Any publicity is good for this hobby IMO helps out all the fish stores

I agree the hobby was slowing down. it comes to LFS letting customers know the truth.....hopefully

[Flyride95]

For whoever wants to read this - I got into saltwater tanks because of seeing this show tanked and because of my past with freshwater. At very first before I got the tank I admit I thought you could just go out and toss everything into the water and be fine. But before I got into my set up I came online and that is where I found MAAST. Since then I have read every single post and learned a ton on here and now I have a great looking tank. I know you cant put triggerfish in with shrimps or sharks with clownfish ect ect ect. So in the end Tanked as much as it is a show and they do not show the best way to do these aquariums with all the water changes to keep everything low. It did lead me to find this awesome place. So in the end I wouldn't bash then that hard.

[alton]

Okay call me whatever but I like the show, they build large tanks and then set them up with help of fish stores and or maintenance companies in the area of the setup. In some cases like the Church they have a biologist on staff to take care of the fish. In a world where we take everything so serious it is nice to laugh once a while and seeing these amazing tanks is awesome. What is missing from the show is a time line that covers from when they set up the tank to when they add fish in days, weeks, and months. They are better at letting us know they are acclimating the fish before just dropping them in this season, at least on a couple of shows I have seen. The first season they caught heck because they filled up the mobster tank with a garden hose and tap water, and just dumped the fish in? When we since have found out that they use sea water to fill tanks, but in the first season they had no control on what was cut out. Just guessing, I am sure they filled up the tank to pressure test the tank with tap water and let it sit for a couple days, then it was pumped out, dried and then refilled with natural seawater, waited a while and then added fish after parameters where correct. But all we saw was filling the tank and fish dropped in minutes later. When I set up my bosses tank in 2001, who reminds me of some of the clients on the show because he did not want to wait for rock to cycle, be told he had to wait to add fish. So when he built his new office building while the plans were being drawn he setup an account with $5,000 (which he went over) that I was able to draw from so that 8 months later I went in one night with two friends and set up a 140 gallon custom Oceanic tank with live rock, corals and fish, the next morning when him and employees walked in all they saw was a brand new tank fully loaded and it looked amazing. And I got asked the same question wow you came here last night filled the tank up and put everything in and nothing died? What they didn’t see was the live rock that I had bought 8 months back, fish and corals 4 months after that and kept them off site until we were ready to move in. And if you are wondering how I spent that much he picked out a Giesemann metal halide / moonlight light that cost $2,800. And that $2,800 light today? It has been fixed twice, first time a power supply, second time a ballast but other than that it still looks great.
Now back to the show does it hurt our hobby? Yes, every time you talk someone into setting up a saltwater tank it takes away fish that you yourself wanted but someone else grabbed it from the fish store or online. But at the same time one of the newbies may find a way to breed that hard to find fish one day?

[rrasco]

They are better at letting us know they are acclimating the fish before just dropping them in this season, at least on a couple of shows I have seen.

I noticed on the Saveology tank, I think it was that one, they started putting fish in, then Brett had a little voice over that said something like 'the fish were perfectly acclimated to the tank'. I was thinking they are trying to be more informative, if anything to calm down the criticism they get from us hobbyists.

[ErikH]

Wow it's hot in here. These guys may seem like a bunch of dumb animals but the fact is that they are very wise. Don't let the 50 minutes of hijinx cloud the fact that there are very real mechanisms and methods employed to build these large showcase tanks with little to no losses. Sure, the tanks probably hit the normal hiccups, diatoms, and HA, but there are ways to cycle a tank quickly. If any of you "like" Mr. Saltwater Fish on FB, he has done it, and also talked about the series and the exact chemicals they use. I'm sure these guys have a group of people that go around to do maintenance as well. The tanks these guys build are huge, and to have gained such notoriety to have their own TV show, they are probably doing it right.

[jcnkt_ellis]

I would have to agree on the use of chemicals to speed things along...escpecially since Petco is carrying their exclusive line of chemicals to help cycle and maintain your tank :wink_smile:

[allan]

I wish I had one of those large tanks.

[ElChicano]

I wish I had one of those large tanks.

+1

[Bill S]

I'll chime in here - a bit late.

1) It's a TV show - they are there to entertain.

2) I guarantee you, that they stage EVERYTHING. If they are setting up a brand new tank, they already have it "done", with tons of rock and sand already cycling, and they truck in the salt water.

3) They have basically unlimited funds. With that, you can overkill filtration and water treatment.

4) MOST of their tanks are FO tanks. No corals. That's WAY easier - especially with modern water treatment. Heck, I'd do a FO with a Hiatt in heartbeat. You wouldn't even get a cycle.

5) They ARE good for the hobby.

6) I love the show. I recognize it for what it is, and what it misses - but then again, I know better.

7) They should do a "how we do it" segment, and put it on the web - that would let the curious know what it really takes.

[TexasTodd]

I think it's good for the hobby and LFS. And, healthy profitable LFS are "good" for us with better and more selection. They use top of the line equipment and no corals. Let's face it, if we really want what's "best" for the animals, they should be left in the ocean. Allan, sounds like an idea for Halloween 2013.

[rrasco]

While SW fish need to be cared for too, I think we have a tendency to apply our reefing habits to all types of fish keeping, whereas the care level corals require is not always the same as a FO tank would need. This sometimes makes it seem like we're neglecting our fish, when in fact they are just easier to care for than a reef tank and we don't need to go all OCD on FO tanks. I'm much less concerned with starting my FO tank than I was with my reef.

[alton]

The following is a post on RC from Tampa Aquarium Service confirming what another member(Merlin) said about edited scenes;

Merlin you are very much on the right track, there is way more behind the scenes than the viewer could possibly know. I worked with the the crew from Tanked to film 2 custom installs in Tampa. My company was hired as the "on set aquarium system and livestock professionals". It was a very lengthy contract with very strict guidelines and procedures that need to be followed to ensure all would run smoothly and not harm the livestock. It took 8 days and nights to film and install 2 systems. ATM brought in two employees just to do plumbing and system set ups behind the scenes. one system was 80% pre plumbed back in Vegas and required some gluing at places like bulkheads and some unions. The second system had some preplanning but because the filtration was in it's own room behind the system, plumbing was done on the fly after each component was set in place. The ATM plumbing crew spent 2 nights until 2AM and 3 full days to completely install the system and all of it's components.
I had to make sure that the tanks water was just right as we acclimated the livestock and no fish were introduced until I said it was okay.
My company was then required to test every major / minor water parameter and shoot video of the livestock in each system for more than 10 days after the filming stopped and fill out paperwork that is emailed or texted to the shows technical consultant. Now that the systems are a month old we are into our usual maintenance routine.

As for the way they act on TV...same guys when the camera is off...Wayde and I grew up in the same Long Island town and have common friends. He and Brett goof on each other 24/7, I witnessed this from the moment they got off the plane, at dinner, all during the shoots. There is very little acting going on here, they just turn the cameras on and film with some direction added to "Control the Chaos"

(I contacted Tampa Services and asked if I could use there post and they said yes and added the following)

Sure, As an addition to the post, They also use a proprietary bio media that is fully charged with stable Nitrifying bacteria off site. It is then Fedex'd to the shoot site for installation the same day the fish are added. That is how they are able to load 50 fish into an aquarium and not lose any, other than the occasional loss due to some bullying in the tank.

[rrasco]

It's great to know a little more about what goes on behind the scenes, but...

I guess my only remaining question is that pretty much everything I understand about nitrifying bacteria says that it needs surface area to adhere to in order to be effective. If they dump a ton of bacteria in the water column, does it immediately adhere to surfaces and begin handling a bioload? Can it handle any type of bio load while in the water column? While I know nitrifying bacterias have been sold on the consumer market for years, I still understand them to take time to cycle a tank as the bacteria takes hold in the tank and are merely a way to jumpstart the cycle, not complete it instantly.

For example, there is Dr. Tim's One and Only. I've never used a bacteria additive before, I always seeded from another tank or used LR for SW tanks. From my external, non-bacteria-using-perspective, Dr. Tim's seems to be one of the leaders in bacteria on the market. If someone knows others that are popular, I'd like to look at them too, but at any rate, Dr. Tim's has this in the guide for their nitrifying bacteria.


At this point, you have a decision to make regarding how to “cycle” the tank. Cycling is the name given to the process of establishing the beneficial bacteria (called nitrifying bacteria) that get rid of the toxic fish wastes. There are two ways to cycle a new aquarium – either with a few fish or without fish – in a process called fishless cycling (click here to learn more about fishless cycling (http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling/how-to-start)). Either way, the cycling process can take 30 to 35 days to complete unless you add some nitrifying bacteria to the tank at this point. DrTim’s One & Only Live Nitrifying (http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/treat-aquarium-nitrate-ammonia-levels) are the industry standard for nitrifying bacteria and are used by professionals at more public aquariums than any other brand.

The simplest way to proceed is to add a bottle of One & Only Live Nitrifying bacteria and a few hardy fish, such as most bards, danios or many tetras. The exact number of fish depends on many factors (size being a big one), but a good starting point is one fish per two gallons. Also, not all fish like newly set-up aquaria, even when dosed with DrTim’s One & Only. At this point in the process, stay away from Discus, Angelfish and some tetras such as Rummy Nose, Neon and Cardinals. Feed a quality fish feed twice a day, but just the amount the fish will eat quickly (about 3 minutes). After a week or so, if the fish are eating well, you can start to add more fish to the tank. Make sure to add some DrTim’s Aquatics First Defense (http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/stress-relief-immune-support) stress relief for fish and invertebrates, which helps these organisms fight disease and adjust to their new surroundings.



http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/setting-up-your-aquarium

[Bill S]

Note it says "proprietary biomedia with stable nitrifying bacteria...".

I'd do this same thing with a HIATT, for a FO tank.

[rrasco]

Note it says "proprietary biomedia with stable nitrifying bacteria...".

I'd do this same thing with a HIATT, for a FO tank.

I understand that, but it still doesn't adhere to the science behind bacteria. I was only using Dr. Tim's as an example to compare it to. What is the difference between their bacteria and Dr. Tim's? Is their bacteria capable of metabolizing in the water column while 'ours' is not? Why? Why does nobody else know about this magic bacteria? My guess is the bacterias are all the same, for the most part, at least in effectiveness.

I'm not trying to bash them, I want to understand if what they are doing is even possible and how, and why it works that way, assuming it does.

I'm not even saying you can't setup a new tank, add livestock right away, and be successful. If you monitor waste levels, it's completely possible. Even moreso in a FO tank. As ammonia becomes available it begins to establish nitrifying bacteria, even at non-toxic leels. If you keep the waste levels below toxic levels via WC, there really is no harm in doing this. I think the standard is to not do this 1) because it's better safe than sorry, and, 2) because you don't want a new aquarist who doesn't understand biological filtration to be trying to do this when they don't understand what is really going on. When using LR, this becomes an even more possible scenario.

[polarbear]

Ive been to their shop when me and the wife went to Vegas. They are reall nice people and will talk to you about any questions that you have. They were filming the day we stoped by to see their retail store. Bret came out to say hi and even showed us around their retail store. We even got shirts signed by him and Wayde. As for them putting fish on the tanks right away. They use "Colony" which is a Professional Grade Nitrifying Bacteria. (Colony for Marine contains two different strains specific for marine systems: Nitrococcus and Nitrosococcus. These formulas have proven time and again to be the champions of instant cycling). They also use live sand and natural pre mixed sea water which helps on the cycling. I love this show and watch it all of the time. They seem to be good at what they do and with close to 20 years of experince I dont see any reason not to trust what they say or the products they use. Just my opinion. You can visit their website to read more about what they use.

http://acrylictankmanufacturing.com/

[subsailor]

Brett is Awesome ! If you haven't ever met him be sure to stop by the main geek booth at MACNA and strike up a conversation.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[allan]

I'm going out to Vegas early next year and hope to stop by the shop. I'm hoping that we can meet that dude that looks like the king of queens dude.

[350gt]

Was watching last night..... Lol the whodinni tank was pretty cool...

But the leak he had during the set up....... Staged or not, was cheesy as hell... And it had to be staged cause every leak they have is about the same... A streaming, spray in the face type leak....


i watch when there's about nothing else on but I don't make it a point to watch..... I wish there was a better show that was more informative, might be boring to most but I would definitely tune in and I'm sure others here would...

[Bill S]

Yeah, the guys aren't great actors, and they obviously have to recreate some scenes - or shoot them again. But still a funny show.

[reefreak]

Did you see those coralife leds they used on tracy morgans tank?

[350gt]

I saw some of the episode.... But didn't see the LEDs..

were they the cheap capable ones? Or there new hi powered version..

[reefreak]

Not sure i think they were $3k on foster and smith