AZRippster
Diver & Reef Aquarium Nut
So I thought I would share a little eye candy. I’m currently on work travel to Oahu. I come here almost annually and always visit the aquarium. This time I thought I would share some shots and some interesting observations. Also, against my better judgement, I decided to go scuba diving yesterday. For years I have been told the reefs are very poor and that diving in Oahu is unspectacular. Very sad to say, these statements are true. There may be better diving if you have your own boat or charter one to a remote location and fortunate to catch a very calm day, but the reefs most of us have access to look very much like a desert. Corals are sparse and most of those that exist have some form of damage. There are a good variety of fish however, which surprised me. On the flip side, the big island Hawai’i (Kona) has pretty good diving. The shore diving off of Puako can be fantastic.
Here are a couple of observations on the aquarium this year.
1. Flow is not excessively strong in the aquariums. There appears to be some form of wave action, but not to the degree we seem to try and achieve in some of our aquariums.
2. Lighting appears to be a hybrid of natural and artificial with an emphasis on natural. This can be substantiated by the lack of blue color in photos. When I dive and take photos, unless filtering is used, photos have a very high level of blue present. These photos do not manifest this. The reefs in these photos are not very deep as it is when diving.
3. Every aquarium had diatoms on the substrate surface and even cyano on rocks in a couple. Actually, I saw diatoms, cyano, and bryopsis on the dive yesterday.
4. They would randomly inject air into the return pumps which would simulate air being pulled in from a wave.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them now.
Enjoy the shots.
Here are a couple of observations on the aquarium this year.
1. Flow is not excessively strong in the aquariums. There appears to be some form of wave action, but not to the degree we seem to try and achieve in some of our aquariums.
2. Lighting appears to be a hybrid of natural and artificial with an emphasis on natural. This can be substantiated by the lack of blue color in photos. When I dive and take photos, unless filtering is used, photos have a very high level of blue present. These photos do not manifest this. The reefs in these photos are not very deep as it is when diving.
3. Every aquarium had diatoms on the substrate surface and even cyano on rocks in a couple. Actually, I saw diatoms, cyano, and bryopsis on the dive yesterday.
4. They would randomly inject air into the return pumps which would simulate air being pulled in from a wave.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them now.
Enjoy the shots.
The Waikiki aquarium is my favorite and I've been to quite a few...
