As regular Saltwater Smarts visitors are aware, The Toledo Zoo’s Aquarium closed October 1, 2012 for a $25.5 million renovation and the new Aquarium is scheduled to open in 2015. Since the renovation began, one of the common questions visitors ask is, “What exhibits and animals will the new Aquarium have?”
To help answer that question, I’m examining the new exhibits through a series of posts. My last installment covered the design and livestock of the Pacific Rainbow Reef exhibit. This time around, I’d like to shine the spotlight on the Pacific Reef Crest and Lagoon exhibits.
Please bear in mind that the planning process is fluid; things can and will change before the Aquarium’s grand opening. Additionally, the names for the exhibits are only placeholders—the final names may reflect helpful donors or be more descriptive of the exhibit itself.
As marine aquarists know, live corals require different life-support equipment and a narrower range of water-quality parameters than do fish and even some other invertebrates. Even then, not all corals are created equal, and one important consideration is that of the potential for “allelopathy,” or chemical warfare, between species. Direct attacks between corals using sweeper tentacles is one way corals fight each other for space, but they can also inhibit the growth of other corals by releasing toxins into the water.
In our previous reef exhibit at the Toledo Zoo, we found that some species of soft coral would cause growth problems in small-polyp stony (SPS) corals. In addition, the SPS corals tend to have more stringent water-quality requirements than many soft corals do. The solution for us was to develop two live coral exhibits: a Reef Crest dominated by SPS corals and a Lagoon exhibit designed to house soft corals and our giant Tridacna clam.
Exhibit: Tropical Pacific Reef Crest
Water type: Tropical marine
Tank volume: 2,000 gallons
Lighting will be from six 400-watt, 10,000k metal halide pendant fixtures as well as a Solatube light pipe. Water motion will be from various pumps, including some new smaller-sized Hydrowizards. The exhibit will have a remote sump with two large skimmers and a calcium reactor. Water temperature will be maintained by a heat exchanger connected to the building’s new geothermal system.
Exhibit: Tropical Pacific Lagoon
Water type: Tropical marine
Tank volume: 2,000 gallons
The life-support system will be identical to that of the Tropical Pacific Reef Crest, except the metal halide bulbs may be a lower color temperature and only one protein skimmer will be employed.
The fish in both exhibits will be secondary to the live corals. Selection of the fish will depend on their ability to cohabitate peacefully with the corals. Some fish will also be chosen for their ability to serve a function for the living reef; surgeonfish will eat unwanted algae, while we use copperband butterflyfish to reduce the number of the pest anemone Aiptasia.
Photo Credit: Toledo Zoo
