Coral - January/February 2010

being placed in the new exhibit—and you can see how these fluctuating light levels might prove problematic.

WATER

Water motion can be a challenge in an exhibit of this size. However, when designing this system we made use of eductors (high-tech jet nozzles) to increase the water flow of returns within the tank and used three 40-hp pumps strictly for recirculation. Water motion is not lacking; if anything, we may have too much water flow directed at certain areas in the tank. Luckily, the recirculation pumps are variable-speed models, so we can easily reduce or increase the flow of water into several regions of the tank; this is something we are still adjusting.

With an aquarium of this size, filtration must be
sized appropriately. There are two RK2 PE600 skimmers,
each processing 900 gallons per minute, as well as four
sand filters processing over half the volume of the tank
per hour. Fine-tuning the skimmers has had us playing
around with water flow rates, adjusting air flow rates into
the Venturis, and modifying the wash-down lines to get
them running reliably. The calcium reactors have proved
to be a significant challenge. As designed, they worked
well for a while but would sometimes malfunction and
send milky white effluent into the tank. This system is
currently being reconfigured and set up with a modified
CO2 dosing system that will, we hope, reduce the likeli-
hood of future “milkshake” episodes.

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