10 Sharks Killed At Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
- Thread starter Lev F.
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tkeracer619
New member
I agree with delv..... they def do water changes. I did a quick search on yahoo and here is a paragraph I found.
The water quality parameters of salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are analyzed periodically depending on the "biological load," which includes the mass of organisms, feeding rate, and algal/plant "die-off" rate in the tank. With the water flow via airlifts and supplemental pumps, there have been no oxygen problems and oxygen readings are not usually taken. Water changes and removal of organic debris through siphoning, draining, or mechanical filtration are conducted routinely.
Currently, artificial sea salt, "Forty Fathoms," is dissolved in city water which has been filtered (through zeolites to remove ammonia and through activated carbon to remove chlorine and chloramine) and "aged" (held for several days prior to use and aerated). Artificial sea salt can be also mixed with city water which has been vigorously aerated to dissipate the chlorine and has had the ammonia negated by the addition of an ammonia remover. The resulting artificial sea water is used for the Aquarium's saline habitats. Natural, local saltwater is not employed for use in the aquariums because it may: 1) have a high sediment load which requires extensive filtration for water clarity, 2) change salinity rapidly which could stress the animals, 3) contain various toxins or dinoflagellate (one-celled plant) blooms which would require expensive filtration to clean, and/or 4) contain diseases and parasites which could affect the Aquarium's displays
The water quality parameters of salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are analyzed periodically depending on the "biological load," which includes the mass of organisms, feeding rate, and algal/plant "die-off" rate in the tank. With the water flow via airlifts and supplemental pumps, there have been no oxygen problems and oxygen readings are not usually taken. Water changes and removal of organic debris through siphoning, draining, or mechanical filtration are conducted routinely.
Currently, artificial sea salt, "Forty Fathoms," is dissolved in city water which has been filtered (through zeolites to remove ammonia and through activated carbon to remove chlorine and chloramine) and "aged" (held for several days prior to use and aerated). Artificial sea salt can be also mixed with city water which has been vigorously aerated to dissipate the chlorine and has had the ammonia negated by the addition of an ammonia remover. The resulting artificial sea water is used for the Aquarium's saline habitats. Natural, local saltwater is not employed for use in the aquariums because it may: 1) have a high sediment load which requires extensive filtration for water clarity, 2) change salinity rapidly which could stress the animals, 3) contain various toxins or dinoflagellate (one-celled plant) blooms which would require expensive filtration to clean, and/or 4) contain diseases and parasites which could affect the Aquarium's displays
TANGBOY5000
Premium Member
I'm not saying they don't do water changes on every tank. I had to do tons of them. What I was referring to were the big tanks, like the ones sharks are usually kept in. Making up a vat of water to do a water change on a half million gallon tank is not cost effective. The normal process is what I described above. This only applies to inland public aquariums. Public aquariums that have access to NSW obviously have a slightly easier time of it.
tkeracer619
New member
I'm pretty sure they do water changes on the big tanks but I doubt the do 10% of .5million gallons. That would be 50,000 gallons a week, wooh the salt bill.
I would definitly say of all the aquariums I have been too they all have huge centers to deal with water quality. They have people monotoring gauges, gauges monitoring people, gauges monotoring gauges, and people monitoring people.
I would imagine a process designed to keep thousands of living creatures would have some redundent sensors and systems to make sure something like this didn't happen.
off subject but has anyone been to a rippleys aquarium. They have the tunnel under the tank like in jaws. Its cool to see the sharks and other creatures from under the sea.
I would definitly say of all the aquariums I have been too they all have huge centers to deal with water quality. They have people monotoring gauges, gauges monitoring people, gauges monotoring gauges, and people monitoring people.
I would imagine a process designed to keep thousands of living creatures would have some redundent sensors and systems to make sure something like this didn't happen.
off subject but has anyone been to a rippleys aquarium. They have the tunnel under the tank like in jaws. Its cool to see the sharks and other creatures from under the sea.
TANGBOY5000
Premium Member
Okay, since some people are confused let me go through this. When water has to be changed on a big tank, for example 500,000 gallons, about 20,000 gallons is pumped out of the tank into 1 of 2 reserve tanks. These are usually underground and made from poured concrete. The water is left there for the DOC to settle out for about 3 weeks, sometimes more sometimes less, it depends on what the tests say. Between 18 and 19 thousand gallons of the water is then pumped over to the now empty reserve tank and the rest is washed away. This water usually tests very well, but it still gets treated with ozone, charcoal and UV for another week. The water is pretty well sterilized at this point and is kept on hold for when it is needed for the next water change. Yes up to 1000 gallons of new salt water is added so that the water changes are even and salinity kept constant, but this is a drop in the bucket when compared to what they would have to do to make a water change like we think of one. What I'm saying probably happened in this situation was that the make up water was still being processed when it was let back into the tank and that is where the ozone came from. I still can't figure out why or how the cyanide would have been anywhere near the tank.
delv
In Memoriam
Not cyanide, Bromide conversion from excess ozone. It happens more frequently than you'd think, especially on newer systems.
It's hard to generalize water changes, each aquarium and display is different and has different needs...some change continuously, some infrequently.
Sometimes the fresh water is heavily treated, sometimes not. It depends.
d.
It's hard to generalize water changes, each aquarium and display is different and has different needs...some change continuously, some infrequently.
Sometimes the fresh water is heavily treated, sometimes not. It depends.
d.
For a lot of people jumping to conclusions it make a very interesting reading material...as have worked in quite a few public aquariums, accidents do happen...not right but do happen...as for the incidents in the past, they were still going through major changes and new exhibits being brought online (or running) as for the cyanide it was a vendors fault...accidents do happen...
Man, give the guys a break, they were the people who got all the reef keeping started years and years ago. All people make mistakes...let the man who has never made a mistake cast the first stone to throw at the blasted public aquarium workers.
Man, give the guys a break, they were the people who got all the reef keeping started years and years ago. All people make mistakes...let the man who has never made a mistake cast the first stone to throw at the blasted public aquarium workers.
Chordstriker
New member
No offense to anyone or anything, but sharks are expensive. Getting people in the door means more money. Killing a bunch of sharks every couple of years is not cost effective.
Repeated mistakes of this magnitude are not acceptable. And no comparison between amateur/hobby trade tanks and professional public aquarium mistakes is statistically significant.
If those sharks were part of hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant money derived from public and private support, professional handling and care had to be mandated. These weren't high school kids making mistakes.
Repeated mistakes of this magnitude are not acceptable. And no comparison between amateur/hobby trade tanks and professional public aquarium mistakes is statistically significant.
If those sharks were part of hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant money derived from public and private support, professional handling and care had to be mandated. These weren't high school kids making mistakes.
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