180 Gallon Florida Coral Reef Aquarium Build at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center

fishybizzness

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Atlantic Blue tang closeup. It must like the camera lol ;Snaphappy
Truly one of the most unappreciated yet beautiful tangs!
 

fishybizzness

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I had a surgeon and a blue tang that were my favorite fish! I lost them after the hurricanes last year but plan on getting some more when I set up my new tank early next year! I love their personalities!
 
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Brandon McHenry

Brandon McHenry

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I had a surgeon and a blue tang that were my favorite fish! I lost them after the hurricanes last year but plan on getting some more when I set up my new tank early next year! I love their personalities!
I agree they follow me around and always come up to my hand when I feed. And sorry to hear about the hurricane. Irma decimated my personal tank last year too so I know how you feel.
 
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Brandon McHenry

Brandon McHenry

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I don't know if I missed it,but what type of quarantine,if any, do you run on any new additions?
Great question. All of the hard coral has come from a colleague at the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit. His coral has been in that system for many years so I wasn’t too concerned. That being said, every piece of coral, wild or donated from an aquarium has been dipped in CoralRx as a preventative measure. The fish however go through three weeks of copper treatment with Bifuran and PraziPro on standby if deemed necessary. I’ve tried to be as cautious as I can with keeping parasites and diseases out of this system. That’s also why I put on such a massive UV sterilizer! :D
 
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Brandon McHenry

Brandon McHenry

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What better day than Thanksgiving to say thank you to all of the companies and collaborators who’ve helped make this amazing display a possibility for us. This aquarium is part of the Marine Ecosystem Health Exhibit at FAU Harbor Branch’s Ocean Discovery Visitors Center. We use this display to help teach the public about our coral reef research and conservation efforts. We couldn’t have done it without all of the help!

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Brandon McHenry

Brandon McHenry

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You have got to be having fun !
Absolutely! It’s so exciting to be able to keep all of these local species. I have a couple of gems that I’ve been raising up and can’t wait to show off once they are looking just right. :D
 

Ruben's Reef

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Thank you! It’s really amazing to be the one who established this reef and get to watch it grow.
It 's. I look mine when I started and now a year after, I feel that I accomplish a hard task. Jumping from keeping Discus and African Cichlids to make a complete different ecosystem and all the animals thriving and corals growing, is amazing.
 
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Brandon McHenry

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It 's. I look mine when I started and now a year after, I feel that I accomplish a hard task. Jumping from keeping Discus and African Cichlids to make a complete different ecosystem and all the animals thriving and corals growing, is amazing.
It really is an amazing feeling to keep an ecosystem thriving.

I will definitely be visiting to see it in person next time I'm in Florida!
You should! Harbor Branch does some amazing research on the marine environment and we have really been beefing up our visitors center and it’s a really great experience!
 
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