The Waikiki Aquarium’s outdoor stony coral reef display has long been one of the first great examples of stony coral growth in a captive environment. The dense coral growth, amazing colors and the pioneering techniques that are a part of this aquarium exhibit have made this display one of the most recognizable in the world. The application of the Carlson Surge Device to this aquarium and the tremendous flow it produced was one of the factors which first underscored how critical water flow is for coral growth and health and it was one of the forces that kicked off a renaissance in water moving devices for the home aquarium. This historical video from Dr. Wing Hung Chung chronicles the Waikiki Aquarium’s outdoor reef display as it was back in the year 2000, well before the reef aquarium hobby experienced a surge in popularity. Even today this outdoor aquarium exhibit is still a pinnacle of captive coral growth and it’s awesome to see moving picture of this iconic reef display. However, with free flowing saltwater and abundant natural sunlight, this reef had better look stellar since it required no artificial lighting or mineral or additive replacements. Now that they are building completely closed in reef systems, it will be interesting to see what Carlson and Delbeek do with their mega-reefs in Atlanta and San Francisco.
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