How do public aquariums avoid algae?

[pixelhustler]

I recently visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA and one of the things that caught my attention is the lack of any algae in their exhibits. Even the sea lions exhibit, whose water was visibly murky, looked very clean of algae.

Is this simply due to the constant turnover replaced with seawater, where nutrient levels are much, much lower than reef aquariums?

I’m sure they do a lot of maintenance but the lack of algae in their reef tanks was beyond what can be maintained by scrubbing.

 

[Spare time]

@Jay Hemdal Would probably know.

 

[Spare time]

I know people get paid to keep tanks algae free, unlike our tanks lol

 

[rennjidk]

I know people get paid to keep tanks algae free, unlike our tanks lol

Yeah, they have a team of divers that go in daily and scrub everything. Plus you're a far enough distance from the rocks that you don't notice small amounts covering everything, unlike us whose rocks are a few inches from the glass.

 

[tedfisher496]

No one can avoid algae.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

As @rennjidk stated, almost all large/public aquariums have staff and volunteers that clean the tanks.

For example, I know both the Florida Aquarium and Tennessee Aquarium allow you to sign up to volunteer to clean tanks if have a scuba certification. These volunteers then get divided up each day for what tank they're diving in to clean.

I would expect the shallower/touch tanks, are cleaned using a scrub brush by staff and volunteers as well without the need to dive.

 

[AydenLincoln]

They don’t! I’ve seen some atrocious looking public aquariums. For the ones that don’t have any…they have divers that go in and literally scrub and manually clean all the surfaces in addition to being very large and well established systems with massive filtration behind the scenes. So it’s not that they don’t have algae they just keep their tanks so pristine most of the time you don’t see it.

 

[Patx]

I recently visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA and one of the things that caught my attention is the lack of any algae in their exhibits. Even the sea lions exhibit, whose water was visibly murky, looked very clean of algae.

Is this simply due to the constant turnover replaced with seawater, where nutrient levels are much, much lower than reef aquariums?

I’m sure they do a lot of maintenance but the lack of algae in their reef tanks was beyond what can be maintained by scrubbing.

Low light and dose vibrant !

 

[Gumbies R Us]

As @rennjidk stated, almost all large/public aquariums have staff and volunteers that clean the tanks.

For example, I know both the Florida Aquarium and Tennessee Aquarium allow you to sign up to volunteer to clean tanks if have a scuba certification. These volunteers then get divided up each day for what tank they're diving in to clean.

I would expect the shallower/touch tanks, are cleaned using a scrub brush by staff and volunteers as well without the need to dive.

I had no clue the Tennessee Aquarium allowed this!

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

I had no clue the Tennessee Aquarium allowed this!

Volunteer · Tennessee Aquarium

tnaqua.org

 

[mues]

I had no clue the Tennessee Aquarium allowed this!

Georgia Aquarium is primarily volunteer divers as well for cleaning. Would be a pretty neat opportunity

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I’ve seen some pretty bad cyano in a few of the Shedd tanks.

Big exhibits can limit it with regular scrubbing plus lower light.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Georgia Aquarium is primarily volunteer divers as well for cleaning. Would be a pretty neat opportunity

If I knew how to dive then it would be pretty neat to do haha

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

If I knew how to dive then it would be pretty neat to do haha

Time to get that cert then, Divers Supply has a store in Macon that does classes...

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Baltimore Aquarium, uses Divers. I’ve seen them with hoses, nozzles and brushes cleaning the rock, which I believe is fake. Calvert Marine Museum uses portable UV, also they use UV on the Air Handlers.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I recently visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA and one of the things that caught my attention is the lack of any algae in their exhibits. Even the sea lions exhibit, whose water was visibly murky, looked very clean of algae.

Is this simply due to the constant turnover replaced with seawater, where nutrient levels are much, much lower than reef aquariums?

I’m sure they do a lot of maintenance but the lack of algae in their reef tanks was beyond what can be maintained by scrubbing.

It varies depending on the life support systems involved. For marine mammal pools, ozone and low dose chlorine help control algae.

For fish-only exhibits, control is through managing lighting, nutrients and then manual removal.

For reef exhibits, control is the same with your home aquariums, removal by CUC and nutrient management.

In some cases, algae is left to grow, except on the front viewing window.....

Jay

 

[Everclear]

If you go to the Shedd here in Chicago, aside from drivers cleaning, they have a driver go in the giant round tank by the entrance multiple times daily to hand feed and talk about the fish in the tank. At least they did before COVID, i haven't been in awhile.

 

[Mikeltee]

It's amazing how little a well balanced, mature tank takes to keep pristine. The problems start when we do too much. 30min twice a month is all it should take once the coralline takes hold. I lived by that mantra for a decade. Now, I can't keep my hands out of the tank and chase problem after problem. In the end, we are reefers not observers. We can't help ourselves. It's better than smoking crack I suppose.

 

[RFGuy_KCCO]

If you go to the Shedd here in Chicago, aside from drivers cleaning, they have a driver go in the giant round tank by the entrance multiple times daily to hand feed and talk about the fish in the tank. At least they did before COVID, i haven't been in awhile.

That tank has now been closed and is in the process of being removed as part of Shedd's "Experience Evolution."

https://www.sheddaquarium.org/about-shedd/centennial-commitment/experience-evolution

 

[Everclear]

That's disappointing