Waikiki Aquarium

[SupaJSK]

Just got back from Hawaii. If you ever have a chance to visit Waikiki aquarium, check it out. They have some sweet reef tanks. All with natural sunlight. Here are some pics.

Check out the size of the clam behind the diver!

[SupaJSK]

Another Clam

[SupaJSK]

Big Hammer

[SupaJSK]

Jellyfish

[SupaJSK]

More of the big reef tank...

[SupaJSK]

More...

[SupaJSK]

Anenomes

[SupaJSK]

Wow

[SupaJSK]

More wow!!

[almostdiva]

Supa,

Those are some amazing pics... something for everyone to drool over!

Thanks for posting!


Rebecca

[Ninong]

Cool way to clean the front glass!

Weren't those two T. gigas clams in the 5500-gal reeftank awesome? There are three T. gigas in that tank. The two large ones pictured are now 23 and 28 years old respectively. The third gigas is now 4 years old.

[SupaJSK]

Yea, I didn't realize those were clams at first. I wanted to get a picture of the diver in there so whoever was looking at the pics could get a good perspective of how big those clams really are.

[hcp28]

So are those tanks outside or are there just big sky lights to let in the natural sun? either way those are some awesome tanks wish I could go and see that. For now I'll just be content with the Tenn. Aquarium.

Henry

[SupaJSK]

One of the tanks is outside. The pics of the last one is outside. All the rest are inside and have "sky lights". Can't beat that Hawaii sun.

[Ninong]

In case anyone is curious, here are the stats on Waikiki Aquarium's 5500 gallon reeftank according to J. Charles Delbeek:

The new reeftank exhibit opened in June 2002. The tank is 16.5 ft long, 9 ft wide at one end and 7 ft wide at the other and 5.5 ft tall. Without rock, etc., it would hold 5500 gallons. There is also a 1000 gallon sump. There are two 250-gallon surge devices on the roof, one for each each end of the tank. There is an ETSS 5000 skimmer.

The lighting is 3 x 1000w 6500K metal halides from Sunmaster plus 4 x 400w Radium 20,000K lamps, plus natural sunlight via skylights. There is a 2 HP pump for internal circulation, a 2 HP to feed the surge towers, a 2 HP to feed the 10 HP chiller outside and a 1 HP to feed the skimmer. The sand bed is about 3-4", it is only in front of the rocks. The rockwork sits on fibergrate framing.

The oldest fish in the tank is a 17-yr-old butterflyfish. Many of the corals are now 19 years old and came from other tanks at Waikiki Aquarium.

P.S. -- Additional Waikiki Aquarium pics from my visit in September 2002 and some from Scubadude's trip earlier can be found here: Waikiki Aquarium - 12 pics Scubadude's pictures are prior to June 2002 and show the two large gigas clams in their previous much smaller tank.

[dattack]

Is there any sort of cover or slight shade for these outdoor reeftanks? Wouldn't the UV from the sunlight bleach some corals that are usually find at higher depths or are the corals that is placed in there usually found in shallows?

[Ninong]

Originally posted by dattack:

Is there any sort of cover or slight shade for these outdoor reeftanks?

No.

Wouldn't the UV from the sunlight bleach some corals that are usually find at higher depths or are the corals that is placed in there usually found in shallows?

There shouldn't be any problem at all with UV from sunlight. The corals can adapt to it and all of the really dangerous UV-C is absorbed in the atmosphere anyway; something that cannot be said for some artificial metal halide lighting systems, which is why some of them need UV absorbing filters. Most natural bleaching events are triggered by extended periods of water temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit and/or exceptionally low tides that expose the corals in the shallows for longer than normal.