The NEW Steinhart aquarium in S.F. (44 pics)

[chrismunn]

i just got back from california where i spent two weeks visiting family. while i was there i decided to check out the new california academy of sciences in san francisco, home of the new stienhart aquarium and thier phillipino reef display. i was astonished at the sheer volume of this thing, along with the lighting set up, it was incredible!!! unfortunatly i wasnt all that impressed the the quiality of the coral because i saw more dead corals than live ones. i guess when your dealing with a tank of that magnitude it presents awhole new host of problems in keeping corals alive? the amount of fish in this thing is pretty awesome though! the tank is 25 feet deep, and holds 212,000 gallons. its got a bunch of live coral, but like i said, alot of it was dead.... here's a few pics of the tank and its lighting set up.

http://www.calacademy.org/academy/exhibits/aquarium/

the lighting...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08679-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08680-1.jpg

there's a little dome you can stick your head in and see the lighting from under water...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08591.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08637.jpg

[chrismunn]

here is the main reef

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08555.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08562.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08566.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08569.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08574.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08578.jpg

[chrismunn]

here's some other random shots from thier other reef tanks. they have quite a few tanks, but only a couple of them are really nice. i think its because the tanks are so new????

gorgonian

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08517.jpg

sea pen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08528.jpg

yellow sponge

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08535.jpg

giant duncan colony

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08538.jpg

random tank

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08541.jpg

[chrismunn]

really nice gorgonian tank!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08548.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08551.jpg

frogfish tank

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08579.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08581.jpg

garden eels display which is part of the main 212,000g reef

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08587.jpg

[chrismunn]

sea apple

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08600.jpg

random tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08588.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08598.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08601.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08602.jpg

[chrismunn]

one of the nicer tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08611.jpg

and some more random tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08604.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08613.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08614.jpg

and some weird rock fish...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08618.jpg

[chrismunn]

more reef lighting

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08637.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08638.jpg

this is kinda off the reef topic, but thier rainforest display is one of the coolest things ive ever seen in my life so i have to include it!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08642.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08645.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08646.jpg

[chrismunn]

there was a tunnel to walke under the rain forest tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08627.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08632.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08629.jpg

pirahnnas

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08633.jpg

fresh water rays

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08628.jpg

electric eels

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08634.jpg

and an albino gator.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08636.jpg

[chrismunn]

they also have a reaaly nice 100,000 gallon norther california coastal tank.

when you see it from the top it doesnt look like much, but as soon as you get under water its pretty incredible.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08494.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08496.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08499.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08507.jpg

they also have some other cold water stuff..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08513.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08515.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/DSC08516.jpg

[chrismunn]

i got to watch them feeding the reef fish and it was pretty amazing to see! ive never seen anything like it before!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/th_MOV08563.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v231/chrismunn/?action=view&current=MOV08563.flv)

[spleify]

WOW awesome. Thanks for sharing. What a great aquarium

[melev]

Great pictures, Chris. Thanks!

[AlexP_03]

that rainforest display is awesome. great pics

[entropygain]

How long ago did they reopen?
I see what you mean on new tanks - some of them looked like recently set up.
Might be very nice in a year or two.

What's the entry fee? It's in golden gate park right?
Heading up soon and want to stop by.

[Lordhelmet]

The reason the corals are not growing well in the large tank is because it is such a large tank. They are in uncharted territory and are learning as they go.They have some of the best people working on it and have been lucky enough that they have not had to purchase any coral for their displays. In fact, they are placing coral again in the main tank as all the coral in there was coral placed when the tank was first stocked. It will be awsome in a few years so please come again!

[Lordhelmet]

Btw, they reopened September 08

[adtravels]

bet those P. tuka's dont last long

[chrismunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15065471#post15065471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by entropygain
How long ago did they reopen?
I see what you mean on new tanks - some of them looked like recently set up.
Might be very nice in a year or two.

What's the entry fee? It's in golden gate park right?
Heading up soon and want to stop by.

its in golden gate park, on concourse drive. it re-opend last september and it costs 25$ i think? i went on a free day and there were TONS of people there! the line to get in was at least 1/2 mile long! :eek2:

i went to the steinhart before they closed the last one and they had a 25' deep reef with 4 or 5 different levels in the tank and on each level were various different corals. that tank was to test out which corals worked out at different depths so they would know what would work in this new tank. im sure in a few years they'll get a better feel for success. im looking forward to going back since i visit california at least once a year.

by the way, for anyone going to S.F. the academy of sciences is a must see! not only for thier aquarium but the whole thing, its incredible!

[JJ21]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15065640#post15065640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adtravels
bet those P. tuka's dont last long

heh

[Pacific Reefs]

Thanks for sharing those with us.

[Byronc]

amazing stuff...I will add it to the aquariums I want to go to

[maroun.c]

Thanks for sharing

[Matt_Wandell]

bet those P. tuka's dont last long

100% survivability after 2.5 years...they all started as females.

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/mhwandell/20091015-DSC_0106.jpg

:thumbsup:

[Lordhelmet]

love it Matt.

[dwd5813]

very nice. thanks for sharing. it's added to the list of aquariums i want to see. hopefully sometime next year i'll get out to the west coast and see it.

[iwishtofish]

Thank you for posting this, chrismunn. I've always been curious about that place, and intend to visit someday. You're photography is nearly as good as going there, though!

I imagine Lordhelmet pegged it, regarding their being in uncharted territory. I'd love to know how (and if) they have sufficient flow for hard corals in that huge tank. And maybe those huge lights still aren't huge enough to penetrate that much water?

[Matt_Wandell]

Thank you for posting this, chrismunn. I've always been curious about that place, and intend to visit someday. You're photography is nearly as good as going there, though!

I imagine Lordhelmet pegged it, regarding their being in uncharted territory. I'd love to know how (and if) they have sufficient flow for hard corals in that huge tank. And maybe those huge lights still aren't huge enough to penetrate that much water?

Interesting questions that I love to answer!

Our feeling is that the flow is more than enough for stony corals. It's actually a bit weird maneuvering while SCUBA diving in the tank without bumping into stuff because of the flow. FYI the bulk of the flow is produced by a closed loop with three 40HP jet mixing pumps distributed to a common manifold and then split into 5 separate loops controlled by automated butterfly valves. These 5 loops go to 60 1.5" eductors inside the tank. The tank is also turned over once every 45 minutes through the skimmer and sand filters, so that adds to the mix. We can see host anemones in the middle of the tank whipping around, so we know the corals are getting plenty of water movement around them.

Likewise, light is plenty sufficient in certain areas. We have the ability to focus the lights on certain areas where corals are found--not big open sandy areas or the windows. Think of it like the recent trend of using LED or MH spotlights to focus on the relevant areas of a tank, rather than just pointing light straight down and wasting energy where it's not needed. Based on PAR measurements and observations of the corals themselves, it's our feeling that mortality is not being caused by a lack of light.

As far as being in uncharted territory, yes, absolutely! There are a couple other coral reef tanks of this size and type in the world, and the history of those indicates to us that it takes lots and lots of time for corals to start growing like weeds. I've got lots of ideas about why this is the case but they'd probably bore most of you to pieces!

Having said that, we see definite signs of improvement every day--coralline taking over here, a new genus of coral doing well that wouldn't grow previously, faster growth in corals that looked stagnant before, etc. We're also incredibly proud of the fish population, which rewards us with dynamic interactions and nightly spawning displays. All the comments, questions, and feedback are immensely appreciated!

Cheers,
Matt

[ctripi]

Those Tukas were indeed awesome.......too bad they don't do well in the home aquarium. My favorite was the Carribien (sp?) display you're calling the Gorg display.

Matt....Howabout a behind-the-scene tour for the local reefers (NVReefers?). Keep up the good work.

[Matt_Wandell]

Matt....Howabout a behind-the-scene tour for the local reefers (NVReefers?). Keep up the good work.

Be happy to. I gave a talk at NVR about this tank ~2 years ago. Just have the NVR contact person shoot me an email at mwandell@calacademy.org

[iwishtofish]

Amazing, Matt! Thanks for enlightening me on those mechanical aspects. I hope it didn't seem like I was suggesting a lack of technical expertise; I just imagined that everything must be exponentially more difficult in a tank that size!

I sure hope I can come visit someday. :)

[Reeftanks6]

Wow that is amazing. Magine the cost of that thing. But that is one person that should be proud of what they did. Or many people probably in this case. Thanks for posting. Incredabile

[Jimng]

Beautiful.........that is so natural....

[Lordhelmet]

check this out, there is a small competition between the two reefers there. This is the "other" reefer Rich
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/caos-cao111209.php
not to take away from you Matt :)

[GreshamH]

Those Tukas were indeed awesome.......too bad they don't do well in the home aquarium. My favorite was the Carribien (sp?) display you're calling the Gorg display.


The Caribbean tank is Charles Delbeeks baby.

[GreshamH]

check this out, there is a small competition between the two reefers there. This is the "other" reefer Rich
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/caos-cao111209.php
not to take away from you Matt :)

I fail to see the competition???

[Matt_Wandell]

check this out, there is a small competition between the two reefers there. This is the "other" reefer Rich
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/caos-cao111209.php
not to take away from you Matt :)

Hey, this thread ain't about me. :)

Rich's cuttles are awesome! There are so many babies behind the scenes, he's had to ship them out all over the country.

[Indymann99]

SF bay area (Sunnyvale) is where I grew up (and lived for 30 years). Going back for Christmas and will be taking my wife and son to SF so will have to stop in at Steinhart. It was not even close to that nice in the past.

Thanks a bunch for the picts. :beer:

[tydtran]

Thanks for posting. Now I have something to look forward to on those mandatory family trips to San Jose.

[chrismunn]

thanks for sharing the insider details matt!