Swedish fish - behind the scenes rebuilding a public aquarium

[Sallstrom]

Some days at work are more productive than others. This morning we were asked if we wanted a steel stand from an old exhibit on the second floor at the museum. After some thinking and lifting we decided to give it a try to move it down to the Aquarium on the first floor.
The steel stand was heavy, over 200kg, and we were only three persons available for the job. So it took some thinking to figure out how to get it down the stairs (it didn't fit into the elevator...). It measure 2 X 2 meters, and the legs are 40cm.
We got some mats and got it upended so we could push it to the stairs. Then we made a sleigh

 

[Sallstrom]

Then we found these stands also on the second floor. They have been used for stroller parking. We won't need a stroller parking for three more years, so we carried it down to the Aquarium(won't be going to the gym today..).

So now our working station for cutting, gluing, dipping and treating corals before they move into the temporary Aquarium is starting to form!
Holes were drilled in the tables to get the overflow pipes through down to future sumps. The legs on the steel stand was extended a bit. And all 8 aquariums we drilled last week will fit on the new stand. Plus some extra working space.

Our cuttlefish watched closely all the time.

 

[Brew12]

I find it amazing how you guys are finding time to get everything ready in the old cafeteria while still caring for all of these tanks. My mind is blown at the amount of work involved!

 

[NS Mike D]

Sundin was awesome. I still have a Nordiques jersey. I like to wear it to Rangers games and get funny looks. I just say, “old time hockey” and walk away.

I'm old enough to remember Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg coming over form the Winnipeg Jets and the check that started the now Garden tradition of the Potvin cheer. Man could those two skate.


I am loving this thread, coffee, hockey and oh yeah, the ultimate build thread.

 

[Sallstrom]

I find it amazing how you guys are finding time to get everything ready in the old cafeteria while still caring for all of these tanks. My mind is blown at the amount of work involved!

Some days there are more time then others. Today was a good day, no meetings or broken skimmers

When the tanks gets older, the less time we need to spend on them(in general). And after a few years you know where to look, which pumps or corals, to see if there's something that's off or has changed.
We do still have our morning routine, about 30-45 minutes, every day. That's for preparing food, feeding and measuring and those stuff. I won't do it everyday, but someone will. And we're such a small group of staff so there's good communication.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Then we found these stands also on the second floor. They have been used for stroller parking. We won't need a stroller parking for three more years, so we carried it down to the Aquarium(won't be going to the gym today..).

So now our working station for cutting, gluing, dipping and treating corals before they move into the temporary Aquarium is starting to form!
Holes were drilled in the tables to get the overflow pipes through down to future sumps. The legs on the steel stand was extended a bit. And all 8 aquariums we drilled last week will fit on the new stand. Plus some extra working space.

Our cuttlefish watched closely all the time.

That looks like Lasse sitting down. If that's not Lasse, then all I can say is, you all look alike to me.

 

[Sallstrom]

I'm old enough to remember Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg coming over form the Winnipeg Jets and the check that started the now Garden tradition of the Potvin cheer. Man could those two skate.


I am loving this thread, coffee, hockey and oh yeah, the ultimate build thread.

Thanks!! I guess this thread is many build threads in one, lots of different projects going on at the same time

I got my NHL knowledge from the computer games in the early nineties, so I'm more familiar with Mats Sundin and then Forsberg & Co

 

[Sallstrom]

That looks like Lasse sitting down. If that's not Lasse, then all I can say is, you all look alike to me.

That's our super carpenter Tommy! About the same age as lasse though
Here he is again, the guy with the hat. The other one is my colleague Jens U, cold water, cuttlefish and jellyfish specialist(our Jelly-man).

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I'm old enough to remember Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg coming over form the Winnipeg Jets and the check that started the now Garden tradition of the Potvin cheer. Man could those two skate.


I am loving this thread, coffee, hockey and oh yeah, the ultimate build thread.

You forgot football, soccer.

 

[Sallstrom]

Didn't have that much time to build today, but we put all these eight tanks in their places and mounted the bulkheads. So we can try them with water soon and do a leakage test.

Hopefully we will get a simple light rig up this week as well. It'll just be small Orphek led bars over these tanks, no need to fry the coral frags

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Didn't have that much time to build today, but we put all these eight tanks in their places and mounted the bulkheads. So we can try them with water soon and do a leakage test.

Hopefully we will get a simple light rig up this week as well. It'll just be small Orphek led bars over these tanks, no need to fry the coral frags

On some of those tanks , I saw hole on bottom side, still using those holes? Looking good.

 

[Sallstrom]

On some of those tanks , I saw hole on bottom side, still using those holes? Looking good.

All these glass tanks had drilled holes and cheap bulkheads in them when we got them. But we discovered that the holes were just 10mm in diameter, so we drilled new hole on top of the old ones. Now the overflow pipes and bulkheads are 32mm PVC. The holes are on the bottom side, so we needed to do larger holes in the bench. Lots of drilling

 

[Sallstrom]

There are a lot of tanks everywhere at the museum right now We got these 8 (+4 broken ones) in glass from a LFS. Then 6 large and 6 small, all new ones in acrylic. Then some even larger tanks, white and green plastic, from the university. They are laying outside, we need to repair and paint them.
So, these small glass tanks are just a working station, for gluing and dipping corals.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

There are a lot of tanks everywhere at the museum right now We got these 8 (+4 broken ones) in glass from a LFS. Then 6 large and 6 small, all new ones in acrylic. Then some even larger tanks, white and green plastic, from the university. They are laying outside, we need to repair and paint them.
So, these small glass tanks are just a working station, for gluing and dipping corals.

You sure you have enough teammates to help? I see ants(people) moving everywhere ,at one point . Heehee​

 

[Sallstrom]

You sure you have enough teammates to help? I see ants(people) moving everywhere ,at one point . Heehee​

Right now we're not that many in the team, for different reasons. Fortunately the deadline is far away for many of our projects, so it's okey if things move a bit slow. As long as they move in the right direction!
We might get some extra help a month or two when most of the corals, fish and rock will be moved to the temporary tanks. Just need to find the right person.
We're a bit low in staff this year because we need to save the money we lose on tickets while we're closed.

Building the temporary Aquarium is on hold another week or two, we need someone to fix the mat first(we kind of got overly excited when we took out the old furnishings and some parts of the plastic mat followed..). But when the floor is okey we will continue building the stands and start fixing pipes and sumps.

 

[ksed]

Following along!

 

[Sallstrom]

Changed a broken bulb today. 1000W metal halides are crazy. You could probably grill a chicken under one of these

 

[NY_Caveman]

Changed a broken bulb today. 1000W metal halides are crazy. You could probably grill a chicken under one of these

Or get a Swedish tan (burn I assume, like me).

 

[Sallstrom]

When having large tanks changing bulbs are not always the easiest task. Thats why I'm glad we put up LEDs above the Shark tank(even if the job was a bit adventurous..)!

Throw back to last summer. Re-arranging the lamps above the Shark tank. Everything went well

 

[Brew12]

When having large tanks changing bulbs are not always the easiest task. Thats why I'm glad we put up LEDs above the Shark tank(even if the job was a bit adventurous..)!

Throw back to last summer. Re-arranging the lamps above the Shark tank. Everything went well

Could be very interesting depending on the type of sharks being kept! ;Wideyed