Watching "Tanked" and was wondering...

[ReefCowboy]

The large acrylic tanks set at the restaurants/homes(300+gal) with the artificial coral reefs look clean when first introduced but since I've never owned these type tanks and decoration, wonder how maintenance would be:

-cleaning the walls(scratches)
-The artificial reefs, made of epoxy/foam material would look horrible when algae covers it...they are sometimes vivid oranges, lime green, reds that would look like crap with green stuff over them. How would someone clean such decorations since I've noticed on the show some of these pieces are glued to the bottom of the tanks...

[moondoggy4]

I saw the tank that they installed in San Diego at the Valley View Casino, it was brand new and I have not been back since so I cannot say how well they fare in time.

[Lincutis]

people have been doing these setups for years. They seem to hold up.

[ReefCowboy]

I agree, I didn't mean to sound critic but am just interested how they are maintained.
I see the coral inserts and they are very realistic with tons of detail. The thing is the client sees that neat piece when it is delivered but I wonder if within a few weeks things start to look crappy?

[slief]

The decorations or fake reef is cleaned with a scrub brush. Over time the color does fade but with a decent service guy or regular cleaning/scrubbing, the fake reef stuff will look good for many years. The key with these decorative reefs is to not get carried away with lighting like we do on our living reefs. If you are careful about lighting choices, algae growth isn't a huge factor.

My friend Jim maintains a 800 gallon cylinder tank that he designed and takes care of for the customer. It has a giant custom (fake) reef as the center piece in it. The tank is several years old and the reef still looks great. That said, the maintenance is a pretty big chore on that tank as he scrubs the sculpture down a couple times a month. His biggest issue is more the food that settles as opposed to algae. That tank is absolutely stunning and is a center piece in the home it in.

[slief]

Not great pictures but this is the tank I mentioned above. The sculpture is more natural looking than some of the stuff you see on Tanked. These pictures were taken after a thorough scrubbing so the water isn't completely cleared. This is NOT an ATM tank. As I said, my friend Jim designed the tank, system and sculpture and did the install as well after having the display and sculpture custom built.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/image.jpg1_zpsp8ro6mrs.jpg

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/image.jpg2_zpsva7hb4zl.jpg

[Indymann99]

gorgeous tank but how the heck would you clean that? Very little room above the tank for a long handled scraper (not that it would work well on a curved surface anyway). Interested in how he keeps the glass clean?

[ReefCowboy]

gorgeous tank but how the heck would you clean that? Very little room above the tank for a long handled scraper (not that it would work well on a curved surface anyway). Interested in how he keeps the glass clean?

You see what I mean?lol

[ReefCowboy]

The decorations or fake reef is cleaned with a scrub brush. Over time the color does fade but with a decent service guy or regular cleaning/scrubbing, the fake reef stuff will look good for many years. The key with these decorative reefs is to not get carried away with lighting like we do on our living reefs. If you are careful about lighting choices, algae growth isn't a huge factor.

My friend Jim maintains a 800 gallon cylinder tank that he designed and takes care of for the customer. It has a giant custom (fake) reef as the center piece in it. The tank is several years old and the reef still looks great. That said, the maintenance is a pretty big chore on that tank as he scrubs the sculpture down a couple times a month. His biggest issue is more the food that settles as opposed to algae. That tank is absolutely stunning and is a center piece in the home it in.


Nice tank for sure! His coral insert works best in my taste as well since it does look like a reef but not trying to have so many colorful corals susceptible to the changes that usually come with saltwater, light and time.
So he basically cleans with a brush the top part where he gets better access?

[slief]

gorgeous tank but how the heck would you clean that? Very little room above the tank for a long handled scraper (not that it would work well on a curved surface anyway). Interested in how he keeps the glass clean?

He has telescoping scrubbers. They work just fine from what I have seen. He's able to get all the way to the bottom of the tank without an issue.

[Lincutis]

like you said above. Lighting is key to maintenance.

[deepblue68]

Absolutely beautiful tank and bar!

[slief]

This is one of his scrubbing tools.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/image.jpg2_zpsqcan51bo.jpg

His Vacuum tool.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/image.jpg1_zpsv7x00pke.jpg

[slief]

like you said above. Lighting is key to maintenance.

Indeed. He's not growing corals. Just needs to light the tank. He uses what I think are a couple T5 fixtures. That said, the space above the tank and the canopy are larger then they appear. The tank is several feet tall so it's hard to get a feel for how tall the space is above the tank. I think there is also a small soffit space in the ceiling above the canopy.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/image.jpg1_zpsxr12fmma.jpg

[Fish Keeper82]

I've seen just about all the episodes of Fish Tank Kings and every time I see the artificial stuff I think the same thing. How long will it look good?
Looks like with a lot of work they can be maintained well. Almost seems like more work than a real reef.

[Rybren]

Is that LA Fish Guy Jim? I think I've seen that tank in one of his shows

[RomeReef]

that cylinder is awesome!!!!!!

[Solar Dragon]

Whats the diffrence is cost between "faux" corals and the real stuff?

[slief]

Is that LA Fish Guy Jim? I think I've seen that tank in one of his shows

Yes that is. Good eye! You've probably seen my tank then. It's been featured a number of times too.

[zachfishman]

We maintain one of ATM's intalls - a 700 gallon "reef" with basically a full back wall of fake coral. We can keep it moderately clean with regular applications of elbow grease, but it looks nothing like it did when first installed. Some of the coral texture is so resistant to cleaning that even powerwashing won't remove algae.

We biannually dose chloroquine to reset things (so to speak) and to give us a nice 3-4 week break from scrubbing. The tank is 3ft deep and there are areas towards the bottom that we simple cannot get good leverage on. Thankfully the low PAR on the system (10ft tank lit by only 3x150w LED fixtures) doesn't grow too much in the bottom third of the tank.

I'd still love to gut it and grow real coral though...

[zachfishman]

Whats the diffrence is cost between "faux" corals and the real stuff?

IMO the biggest difference is schedule. For filming the fake coral is perfect: put the tank in, fill it, film it, and leave all in a matter of days. Whereas a living reef would take so much longer to set up and take months to look good.

[Solar Dragon]

IMO the biggest difference is schedule. For filming the fake coral is perfect: put the tank in, fill it, film it, and leave all in a matter of days. Whereas a living reef would take so much longer to set up and take months to look good.

what about cost?

[Jade5051]

This tank has baller status written all over it!

[Maximus]

This tank has baller status written all over it!

The house does too!

[zachfishman]

what about cost?

I don't suppose it matters to ATM since the client pays for everything. The fake stuff is probably cheaper overall - less powerful filtration and lighting, no LR, etc.

[snorklr]

caught an episode last night ...they built a tank for howie mandel...and told him monthly maintainence for his 500 gal tank would be 500 bucks....guess you can do a lot of scrubbing and still make a profit

[Solar Dragon]

I don't suppose it matters to ATM since the client pays for everything. The fake stuff is probably cheaper overall - less powerful filtration and lighting, no LR, etc.

sounds interesting what about the sand is that at least "live" or doe they only use mechanical filtration with carbon

[lhm nole]

sounds interesting what about the sand is that at least "live" or doe they only use mechanical filtration with carbon
All the sand they use is live and even if it was dry sand it would eventually be live sand anyways

[Tweaked]

That and a simple temp or Alk swing won't wipe out all the coral lol

[Solar Dragon]

That and a simple temp or Alk swing won't wipe out all the coral lol

All the sand they use is live and even if it was dry sand it would eventually be live sand anyways
cool

this sounds very interesting and doable

[ReefCowboy]

I see them advertise "Live Seawater", and wonder if they use any self made bacterial seeding formula or any other product used by large scale aquarium builders?

It's crazy how sometimes they add 50 fish to a new tank, there's got to be some good biological starter bacteria

[jpa0741]

I see them advertise "Live Seawater", and wonder if they was any self made bacterial seeding formula or any other product used by large scale aquarium builders?

It's crazy how sometimes they add 50 fish to a new tank, there's got to be some good biological starter bacteria

They have their own brand of starter bacteria. I used it to start up my new tank and was very impressed. I know a lot of people are sceptical but I know what worked for me.

[ReefCowboy]

They have their own brand of starter bacteria. I used it to start up my new tank and was very impressed. I know a lot of people are sceptical but I know what worked for me.

I figured they must have something of their own due to how much they probably use. I can't imagine these new big tanks with sometimes hundreds of fish running some toxic ammonia levels and fish start dying/ getting sick everywhere....would be such a disaster, wonder if clients could sue? It's gotta be some situation.
Also how do you catch fish in the event of a problem in a tank with thousands of gallons?

[Vinny Kreyling]

I have worked on a few with the coral inserts, PITA if you ask me.

[jpa0741]

[QUOTE=ReefCowboy;23778758]I figured they must have something of their own due to how much they probably use. I can't imagine these new big tanks with sometimes hundreds of fish running some toxic ammonia levels and fish start dying/ getting sick everywhere....would be such a disaster, wonder if clients could sue? It's gotta be some situation.
Also how do you catch fish in the event of a problem in a tank with thousands of gallons?[/QUOTE

I know a lot must die. I see them put in fish that are almost impossible to keep alive. Also im sure they can treat the main tank when they have a problem.

[Lincutis]

I have seen them do live reefs on occasion. They set them up with sumps, separate fuges and basically all the filtration we use.

[alton]

I was happy to see a new episode was recorded on my DVR when I got home on Sunday, but after watching it I was not impressed. The worst show ever award goes to that one show. Please go back to showing us cutting and gluing the tanks together. The actual building of the tanks is why I watch and the humor that Wade and Brett bring is fine but this show was blah!