hobbyist kit in unusual places

 Recently, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a behind the scenes visit with the team at the London Aquarium and thought I’d share a few images in this and subsequent posts.  I’m working on an article about the aquarium for UltraMarine magazine in the UK and enjoyed a behind the scenes tour with Aquarist Gareth Calvert – it’s a tough job but someone’s gotta do it. It is truly an amazing experience to venture behind the scenes at any large aquarium. Like a yokel, gawping with amazement at a city and all those tall buildings and bright colours, I spent a happy few hours being impressed by huge systems, monumental skimmers and flow rates that would clear my tank in seconds. Every so often though, amidst some vast and fabulously expensive technology you come across something that makes you smile and stands out for its ‘every day’ nature.  Take note of the image above – this is the integrated filtration system for one of the QT systems deep in the bowels of the century-old building that houses the aquarium – impressive isn’t it! Yet look closer and what do you see?  A small Certizon ozoniser, just like any one of us may have at home and indeed just the same as the one I run on my 400litre system.  This is no doubt pleasing to Sander, but it also gave me a chuckle that such every day kit can play a part in professional set ups.  For contrast, the picture below shows the aquarium’s main air pump and ozoniser combo, that at the time of the photograph was running at 800 cubic metres per hour,  sufficient to keep the main tanks of around 45,000 litres each at an ORP of 380-440 and to provide air to various other small systems.  Very impressive indeed!