Making It Work Series Abstracts
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Movement and Transport of 200+ kilogram Grey Nurse Sharks…WCGW?
Aaron Sprowl1; Dr. Rob Jones2, 1St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, 2 The Aquarium Vet, 2zoOceanarium Group Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
At the end of 2017 Merlin Entertainments, decided to close the 53-year-old Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary in Sydney Australia. Engineering reports indicated a rebuild was needed due to structures beyond repair. Home to over 1000 different animals careful planning was required for their relocation. Six of the fish were 25 to 40-year-old Sand Tiger Sharks or Grey Nurse Sharks (GNS), Carcharias taurus. These sharks were all in excess of 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) and 200+ kg. The species is no longer able to be obtained from the wild in accordance with the Australian Department of the Environment Recovery Plan for GNS. The movement of the GNS required the development of systems and equipment that would allow the sharks to remain submerged and supported by water through all transfers and avoid traditional capture stress issues. Through careful planning, many long days and nights, and 17 interstate transports each over 1200 kilometers, Merlin Entertainments successfully relocated over 1000 animals including the six aging GNS with zero transport-related mortalities. |
AC/DC – The Advantages of Converting to Direct Current Pumps Jordan Depenbrock; Barbara Bailey, New England Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
Traditional alternating current (AC) pool pumps have been used in the aquarium industry for decades. Although AC pumps can accomplish desired flow rates in most small-scale aquarium systems and do so at a reasonable cost, they can also have significant drawbacks, including: the need for regular maintenance (e.g. replacement of seals); generation of excessive ambient noise, vibrations, and heat (both into the atmosphere and the water stream); and elevated rates of energy consumption. In late 2016, the New England Aquarium received funding from a trustee to replace 17 traditional AC pumps in our Animal Care Center Quarantine Room with direct current (DC) pumps. These pumps (200 and 400 W) were installed over a one-year period. The intention of this exercise was to analyze the feasibility of replacing AC pumps (approx. 150) on smaller aquatic systems (exhibits, quarantine, and holding) throughout the aquarium. The following data sets were collected and compared for both AC and DC pumps: energy consumption, cost to operate, noise, vibration, and system temperature changes. |
Fun… with Magnets! How to Hill-William Our “Bipolar” Friend Nick Zarlinga, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
Using the dreaded cleaning magnet on our acrylic can be a hair raising experience. It is a tool which can lead to so much joy when we get those hard-to-reach algae spots, but it can also lead to frustration after you have picked up a grain of sand and “autographed” the front of your tank. In this presentation, we will Hill-William the heck out of your standard magnet and learn some unique tricks. First, we will learn new and fascinating techniques to address that hard-to-scrape type of algae; second, we will learn ways to really mess up your acrylic; and third, we will learn how to remove all of those !#@*-ing scratches your co-worker kindly left for you while you were on vacation. |