A Visit to the Vancouver Aquarium in December 2003
Part II: Behind the Scenes
by Howard Norfolk
Original to Aquarticles
Lee Newman, who is Curator of Tropical Fishes at the Vancouver Aquarium, read the
report on my visit to the Aquarium and offered to give me a private behind the scenes
tour. (Thanks Lee!). We met at 'Door 3' one Sunday morning in November 2003.
Click on photos for enlargements, then go
"Back"
 
Door 3 turned out to be the Delivery Entrance. Not quite as
impressive as the main Visitors' Entrance!
First we looked at the most important things all aquarists have to deal with - the
water supply and filtration systems:
Where does the Aquarium get its salt water from?
Fortunately local seas are not polluted, and new water for all saltwater exhibits
(tropical, local waters and whales) comes from a well that is 30ft. below zero tide
level in Burrard Inlet (near Lumberman's Arch), only a mile or so away from the Aquarium.
It is pumped in at the rate of 600 gallons per minute, and is first of all filtered
through large gravity sand filters:
 
This gravity sand filter is for the 'Treasures of the B.C. Coast'
(displays of local fish). Along with the water can come limpets, snails and sea anemones,
and Lee said that useful creatures are sometimes collected from the tops of the filters!
After this initial filtration, the water descends into large storage reservoirs beneath
the main floor level. There are several of these, serving the different saltwater sections
of the Aquarium.
Meanwhile, used water in the various systems is constantly re-circulated and filtered.
As it goes by, a percentage of new water is added, as a way of doing 'water changes.'
These pumps distribute water up from the reservoirs, and it is
filtered again before joining the various systems. Some of the local exhibits need the
water cooled to a constant 9 - 10C, and the water is heated for tropical tanks and chilled
even more for Arctic Canada.
There is a variety of filter systems:
This is a high pressure sand filter for the Pacific Canada tank. A
little bigger than your average Eheim or Fluval!
...and here are diatomaceous earth filters for the Arctic Canada
exhibits.
 
A huge triple bio-ball filter is used to treat the overflow water
from the shark exhibit. New water is mixed in with it and then it goes through a gravity
sand filter and a heat exchanger before being returned to the tank.
Gravity sand filtration system for tropical saltwater.
Meanwhile, the freshwater exhibits use local city tap water. It is de-chlorinated,
filtered through activated carbon and adjusted for pH etc. before being added to the
systems.
Again there is a variety of filters:
 
High pressure sand filters for the Amazon Giant Fishes (16,000
gallon) and Indo-Pacific (8,000 gallon) tanks.
A close-up of another gravity sand filter.
Some tanks are particularly messy, for instance those with reptiles
shedding their skin. A rotating drum filter gets big particulates out of the water before
it enters the gravity sand filter above.
Are you bothered with algae? Then get an ultra-violet steriliser
like this! It is used in the tropical freshwater and the reptile systems. Water passes by
ultra-violet light, which kills bacteria and algae.
...That's more than enough of the machinery.
Next, we toured behind the scenes of the various display departments, starting with the
Amazon Rainforest:
 
The Amazon Rainforest and the frog and reptile exhibits need a
steady supply of plants. They are grown under strong lights in the Plant Propagation Room.
On the right are some plants being grown on wood.
Nearby is the Amazon Gallery Reserve Room, where animals not on display are kept, such
as those used for educational purposes or temporary displays, and offspring of exhibit
animals.
A boa constrictor
Four loggerhead turtles were being kept in holding tanks prior to
being shipped to Japan.
  
The Reserve Room is also used for breeding some live foods. These
pinhead crickets are for feeding small frogs.
From here we finally reached what I was especially interested to see - the actual
display tanks from behind:
Here is a general behind the scenes view of a row of tropical
freshwater tanks as the aquarists see them. Beside each tank a written log is kept of
water qualities, feeding times, etc.
 
The Lake Malawi cichlids can quite clearly be seen from above.
Just like the rest of us, the Aquarium occasionally has problems
with its fish! These Lake Tanganyika spiny eels were displayed with the Malawi cichlids,
but the eels require shrimps for food, which are too rich for the herbivorous Malawis. To
stop the cichlids eating the eels' food, shrimps were packed into these pipes and lowered
into the tank for the eels only. But the cichlids found a way to eat the shrimps, and so
the eels had been taken out of the exhibit for now.
As well as the spectacular large displays, the Aquarium has lots of
smaller ones, which it calls 'jewel tanks'.
  
The jewel tanks are very utilitarian from behind. Palms and twigs
are simply laid on top for decoration.
 
Clown loaches, as the visitors and as the aquarists see them.
There is some space in the maintenance areas for the aquarists to
have some small projects of their own. This is not a display tank. The aquarists are
breeding wild-caught discus, and are waiting for these fish to pair up.
Rainbowfish and apple snails are also being bred behind the scenes.
 
As in anyone's ideal fish room, the aquarists have work stations
like this one, with a sink, refrigerator, nets, hoses, buckets - all the usual
paraphernalia.
Here is the office area of the B.C. Waters aquarist, Sharon Jeffery.
Wouldn't you like her job?! The tank contains fire-bellied toads.
 
The piranha tank as the public and as the aquarists see it.
Piranhas and their skull from above.
How about this for an aquarium ornament? An old skull was sitting on
the floor.
The service area for the tropical saltwater tanks
 
This skate often likes to swim at the top of its exhibit, so
visitors see his underside. When I looked down at him I believe he thought I had
food, since he swam right up to me, with his snout in the air.
The 3000 gallon coral tank from above. Lighting is by six 400 watt
metal halide lamps.
Sometimes the aquarists looking down get a better view than the
visitors looking up! These green surf anemones were at the top of one of the tanks.
No explanation needed!
Research and breeding is done in this area too. Here are seahorses
being bred. The young are temporarily in the goldfish bowl in front.
A cold saltwater coral growing experiment. Two tanks are identically
stocked and maintained, but different foods are being fed to see which are best.
'Treasures of the B.C. Coast' is the area displaying local fish:
 
One of my favourites is the striped perch tank, with its flowing
water and gently waving kelp.
Two small tanks from behind
 
The giant octopus has a fence around the top of his tank to prevent
him climbing out.
 
You can't just reach in to service a 69,000 gallon tank! Divers
enter the large tanks about once a week to clean up and re-arrange things. They have a
fully equipped Dive Room, and their air tanks are filled by the compressor on the right.
There is also a Carpentry Shop for construction, repairs, and
maintenance of the displays. It employs two full-time carpenters. I was a little surprised
to hear that there is no Glass Shop, but Lee said that glass repairs are rarely needed,
and if a thick sheet of glass has to be replaced a specialist glass company is called in.
For research and other purposes the Aquarium simply buys commercially made tanks.
 
There are several food preparation rooms. Here is one of them.
  
More fish are bred in the Marine Fish Breeding Laboratory, such as
these sculpins and wolf eels.
Certificates on the wall record the different species that have been
bred here.
 
Nearby is the busy-looking office of Lee Newman and his colleagues.
And here is the Staff Office, where staff can do research (and eat
lunch!) The sun was shining brightly through the window, which looks out over the beluga
training pool.
Next door is the Veterinary Office, which I couldn't enter because it was housing an
endangered snowy owl that needed peace and quiet.
 
A reserve stock room has tanks full of fish and reptiles.
Lee is standing by a container full of baby opalescent squid.
 
A corridor displays framed awards the Aquarium has received...
...and opposite are photos of memorable events in the Aquarium's
history.
 
The Queen has visited the Vancouver Aquarium on two occasions.
This is the Vancouver Aquarium in 1969, the heyday of 'Skana' the
killer whale. This layout is completely different now.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to enter the Boardroom on this occasion, because it was
being used for a private function. I have seen it before however, and have always thought
of it as the 'best boardroom in Canada' (or the World?). It is below ground level, and one
large wall looks through thick glass into the main outdoor saltwater pool. In the days of
the killer whales the whales would regularly cruise by the 'windows.' It was almost as if
they were in the room with you.
The Robin Best Library is where many of us could spend some
interesting hours. It contains about 5000 books and bound magazines.
In this photo for example, are bound copies of Tropical Fish
Hobbyist, Aquarist and Pondkeeper, Marine Mammal Science, and International
Wildlife.
Staff use this research area of the Library, which is complete with
current copies of wildlife publications.
The Vancouver Aquarium has many programmes run by volunteer staff.
They have their own lounge and coffee room, and their own library, shown here.
At the far end of the Aquarium complex is the Lecture Theatre. The
Vancouver Aquatic Hobbyist Club is very fortunate to be able to meet here, free of charge.
The club was originally called the 'Vancouver Aquarium Hobbyist Club' and was founded by
Lee Newman as a part of the Aquarium's outreach efforts. The members eventually took it
over and now run it independently of the Aquarium.
If you can't get to the Aquarium, the Aquarium will come to you!
This is 'Aquavan - Aquatic education on the move'. It takes displays to schools, with
different programmes for different age groups, and also to other institutions, festivals,
and events. It contains a 200 litre aquarium, touch tanks, live reptiles, microscopes,
videos and educational games.
....So that's what I saw when I went 'Behind the Scenes'. Even more 'behind the
scenes' is the research and conservation work that the Vancouver Aquarium is involved in.
Some examples of the Aquarium's research projects are the lingcod eggmass survey, which
monitors spawning and populations of lingcod; the annual population survey of killer
whales; and ongoing observations of the captive beluga whales that could not be studied so
closely in the wild.
In the conservation field the Aquarium is actively involved in projects concerning
killer whales, beluga whales, black rockfish, Steller sea lions, sea turtles, Oregon
spotted frogs, seashore clean-up, and others.
To find out more about these many programmes, consult the Vancouver Aquarium's web
site, at www.vanaqua.org
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