The much hyped and highly anticipated California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium and Museum finally opens to the public tomorrow. The museum is touted as the greenest exhibit building in the world which was built with recyclable materials and with many energy saving features. Besides the world class rainforest exhibit and planetarium what we care about is the new largest reef aquarium in the world. Our friends at the Steinhart tell us that the 220,000 gallon reef aquarium is lit with inumerable 1000W Sunmaster halide bulbs and localized sunlight and it is flowed with the biggest closed loops in the world. Water flow is provided by 3 25HP and 2 40HP water pumps feeding through 8″ diameter pipe which direct the flow to 2″ eductors and butterfly valves for control. We’ll save the rest of the details for a full review following our own visit in a couple weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the exclusive photos of behind the scenes shots provided by Matt Wandell.
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