Hi all! I work as an outreach scientist and aquarist at the visitors center for Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) in Fort Pierce Fl. We are a small educational facility that is designed to showcase the research the institute's scientists and engineers are conducting. I have posted several build threads in the past showing the live displays that we have created to better illustrate the amazing research being done here. Below are the links to the other threads if anyone is interested in learning more about our many exhibits:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/1...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.413700/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/seagrass-aquarium-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.444340/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponge-reef-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.409311/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.486709/
This build, however, is slightly different than my others in that it doesn't highlight our research at HBOI, but the efforts of one of our collaborators. As a long time aquarist, this build hits close to home as it focuses on the current sustainability of the hobby we all enjoy so much. According to current estimates, the marine aquarium trade is worth over $200 million per year in the US alone. This is includes the trade of around 10 million saltwater fish as well as countless corals and invertebrates (though a lot of this is poorly tracked). Unfortunately, coral reefs around the world are struggling from many human impacts and harvest for the aquarium trade can be stressful if done carelessly. The best way to help mitigate these impacts is through aquaculturing species desirable for the aquarium trade. While this is being done pretty well for corals, fish are a different story. There are a little over 2,000 different species of ornamental marine fish that are regularly sold in the aquarium trade and and less than 20% of those have been bred in captivity, with less than 5% being commercially available. While a well-managed fishery for marine ornamentals can benefit many economies around the world, an increase in aquaculture efforts is vital in picking up the slack and taking the harvest pressure away from reefs around the world. The tank that I will be showcasing in this build is from a company doing just that, Oceans Reefs and Aquariums (ORA).
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums was founded in 1996 and has grown to be one of the largest marine ornamental hatcheries in North America. This private company leases land from the HBOI Aquaculture Park, and is a great asset for our campus. ORA has been supplying the environmentally conscientious aquarist with marine fish, coral, invertebrates and live foods for many years and have made it their mission to conserve the natural marine environment.
ORA is probably best known for their culture of designer clownfish, which come in all sorts of amazing color varieties, but they also have cultures of many different classic and prized hard corals. Some of these corals are cultured at their domestic facility here at HBOI (pictured above), but in 2003 ORA acquired a mariculture facility in the Marshall Islands (pictured below). The MIMF is probably best known for its Giant Clam Hatchery, which supplies many varieties of Tridacna maxima, T. squamosa, T. derasa and now its much awaited T. hippopus and T. gigas!
The work that companies like ORA do is critical in the preservation of the saltwater aquarium hobby. While it may take many more years to figure out the life cycles of coveted species of ornamental marine fish and produce them on a scale that can meet the demand, it is crucial that we as hobbyists support companies trying to do their part in making the saltwater aquarium hobby more sustainable.
Whew! Now for the tank! This display will be part of our aquaculture exhibit and will be primarily SPS dominant (my favorite!
). It will allow us to educate our visitors about the aquarium hobby, the work that ORA conducts on our campus and sustainability efforts. As you can imagine, when we pitched the idea of this display to ORA they were very excited and supportive and have worked closely with us to make it happen!
Equipment List:
Marineland 120 gallon Corner Flo aquarium
6 Ecotech Radion XR15's with diffuser plates
2 Ecotech Vortech MP40WQD's
1 Ecotech Vectra S1 Return Pump
Trigger Systems Triton 26 Sump with 200 micron felt socks
Reef Octopus 152-S Internal Skimmer
Tunze Osmolater 3155 ATO
Bubble Magus 3 channel dosing pump
Apex Jr. with temperature probe and Fluid Monitoring System
BRS CO2 canister and CO2 removal media
Biological Filtration:
120lbs of CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand
100 lbs of CaribSea Shelf Rock
Brightwell Xport Bio Brick
Brightwell Xport NO3 Brick
Brightwell Microbacter 7
Brightwell Reef Biofuel
Custom Cabinetry made by my father (Thanks dad!)
I would like to thank all of the contributors who have made this display a possibility and who support increasing the sustainability of this hobby (and educating the public)!
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums
Ecotech Marine
CaribSea
Marineland
Brightwell Aquatics
Equipment and tank in place.
CaribSea shelf rock and Brightwell Xport Bricks were cycled for one month with Microbacter 7 prior to building the aquascape.
I went for a multi-tiered approach to try to prevent any shading due to coral growth in the future. It was my first time working with any shelf rock and I have to say I do like the way I was able to build a structure!
Well that is probably enough for everybody for now but I will be keeping this thread updated regularly with everything else that we did to get this system up and running (which has been since March this year so I have some catching up to do LOL). Id love to hear everybody's thoughts and comments and I cant wait to share with everyone the beauty of our 100% aquacultured reef aquarium!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/1...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.413700/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/seagrass-aquarium-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.444340/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponge-reef-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.409311/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.486709/
This build, however, is slightly different than my others in that it doesn't highlight our research at HBOI, but the efforts of one of our collaborators. As a long time aquarist, this build hits close to home as it focuses on the current sustainability of the hobby we all enjoy so much. According to current estimates, the marine aquarium trade is worth over $200 million per year in the US alone. This is includes the trade of around 10 million saltwater fish as well as countless corals and invertebrates (though a lot of this is poorly tracked). Unfortunately, coral reefs around the world are struggling from many human impacts and harvest for the aquarium trade can be stressful if done carelessly. The best way to help mitigate these impacts is through aquaculturing species desirable for the aquarium trade. While this is being done pretty well for corals, fish are a different story. There are a little over 2,000 different species of ornamental marine fish that are regularly sold in the aquarium trade and and less than 20% of those have been bred in captivity, with less than 5% being commercially available. While a well-managed fishery for marine ornamentals can benefit many economies around the world, an increase in aquaculture efforts is vital in picking up the slack and taking the harvest pressure away from reefs around the world. The tank that I will be showcasing in this build is from a company doing just that, Oceans Reefs and Aquariums (ORA).
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums was founded in 1996 and has grown to be one of the largest marine ornamental hatcheries in North America. This private company leases land from the HBOI Aquaculture Park, and is a great asset for our campus. ORA has been supplying the environmentally conscientious aquarist with marine fish, coral, invertebrates and live foods for many years and have made it their mission to conserve the natural marine environment.
ORA is probably best known for their culture of designer clownfish, which come in all sorts of amazing color varieties, but they also have cultures of many different classic and prized hard corals. Some of these corals are cultured at their domestic facility here at HBOI (pictured above), but in 2003 ORA acquired a mariculture facility in the Marshall Islands (pictured below). The MIMF is probably best known for its Giant Clam Hatchery, which supplies many varieties of Tridacna maxima, T. squamosa, T. derasa and now its much awaited T. hippopus and T. gigas!
The work that companies like ORA do is critical in the preservation of the saltwater aquarium hobby. While it may take many more years to figure out the life cycles of coveted species of ornamental marine fish and produce them on a scale that can meet the demand, it is crucial that we as hobbyists support companies trying to do their part in making the saltwater aquarium hobby more sustainable.
Whew! Now for the tank! This display will be part of our aquaculture exhibit and will be primarily SPS dominant (my favorite!
). It will allow us to educate our visitors about the aquarium hobby, the work that ORA conducts on our campus and sustainability efforts. As you can imagine, when we pitched the idea of this display to ORA they were very excited and supportive and have worked closely with us to make it happen!Equipment List:
Marineland 120 gallon Corner Flo aquarium
6 Ecotech Radion XR15's with diffuser plates
2 Ecotech Vortech MP40WQD's
1 Ecotech Vectra S1 Return Pump
Trigger Systems Triton 26 Sump with 200 micron felt socks
Reef Octopus 152-S Internal Skimmer
Tunze Osmolater 3155 ATO
Bubble Magus 3 channel dosing pump
Apex Jr. with temperature probe and Fluid Monitoring System
BRS CO2 canister and CO2 removal media
Biological Filtration:
120lbs of CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand
100 lbs of CaribSea Shelf Rock
Brightwell Xport Bio Brick
Brightwell Xport NO3 Brick
Brightwell Microbacter 7
Brightwell Reef Biofuel
Custom Cabinetry made by my father (Thanks dad!)
I would like to thank all of the contributors who have made this display a possibility and who support increasing the sustainability of this hobby (and educating the public)!
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums
Ecotech Marine
CaribSea
Marineland
Brightwell Aquatics
Equipment and tank in place.
CaribSea shelf rock and Brightwell Xport Bricks were cycled for one month with Microbacter 7 prior to building the aquascape.
I went for a multi-tiered approach to try to prevent any shading due to coral growth in the future. It was my first time working with any shelf rock and I have to say I do like the way I was able to build a structure!
Well that is probably enough for everybody for now but I will be keeping this thread updated regularly with everything else that we did to get this system up and running (which has been since March this year so I have some catching up to do LOL
). Id love to hear everybody's thoughts and comments and I cant wait to share with everyone the beauty of our 100% aquacultured reef aquarium!
