Gorgeous Reef Tank at Smithsonian - Washington DC

[pugcrush]

I saw this tank during my stay at MACNA last year. I was in DC a few weeks ago and got to see this tank again. It's got some awesome coral colonies vs. the tiny frags we usually see! Highly recommend checking it out if you're in DC. Figured I'd share this.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Awesome!

 

[Rick.45cal]

I remember seeing that tank as a young man. (If it is the same display). That tank has gone through some major tribulations. In the 90's the building's outdated and failing AC was causing massive temperature swings in the display. Which obviously affected it's inhabitants. I am glad to see that they've turned it back into a thriving ecosystem. I remember when I saw it (back in the 80's) there was an enormous leather coral that must have been 3' in diameter.

 

[Smells Fishy]

I got a chance to see it this past april. Awesome display.

 

[Maritimer]

That tank - or its ancestor - was one of the very first experiments in reef-keeping in the U.S.

Nice to see it still going, and going well!

~Bruce

 

[Brice Wagner]

This is great. Im putting it on my list of things to check out!

 

[User1]

And to think some people in the home aquarium hobby have larger systems. I always like to remind myself that when I think my 210 gallon is small that some of you have that for your sump!!! It isn't a bad tank and I've not personally seen it in person. So I'm going to assume that the video is not doing it full justice. Two weeks ago I was at the Monterey Aquarium and saw their reef display. I don't recall the size, probably a bit smaller, but I liked it better.

But like I said seeing one in person and the other in video isn't probably a fair comparison (not that one has to be better). I'm going to head down to the bay area here in a week or so and check out the Steinhart Aquarium - haven't been there in a while. In any case thanks for sharing.

 

[reefwiser]

I visited Walter Adey, PhD. around the early 90's got a back house view of the tank. It was using Dump alage scrubbers at that time to create the waves as well as filter the tank.
http://www.walteradey.com/
His text book https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Aqua...3327161?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185383369&sr=1-1
Is still a good read for those wanting to learn about the biology of the reef.