yoshiod9 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 i just shared this over at reeftuners.com but thought that all my n-r.com homies would enjoy it as well. Hey guys, i got back from oahu about a week or so ago and and haven't had time to upload the pictures from the waikiki aquarium. they have a website that tells you all about their operations and all the possible info you could want. oh, also keep in mind that the aquarium uses natural sunlight to display the vast majority of their animals. acros, blastos, pavona, hammer, bubble coral, mushrooms, toadstool leather, etc. here's the brackish water habitat and it's inhabitants. here's the tank that likely gets the aquarium staff to answer about a thousand 'finding nemo' questions a day. here's a tank that, although stocked with corals that don't interest me in the least, caught my attention. the big mass of hammer coral was about 3 sq. ft. or so i thought that the hammer was covering the entire tank until i realized that the entire left side of the tank (around 2.5 sq. ft. or so) was covered in goniopora. GIGANTIC ritteri anemone, echinopora, montipora sp., and fish. HUGE clam...that skunk clown was full grown and around 5 inches or so in length. one of the first pieces i saw that i needed desperately for my home tank. alas, i didn't get it. gorgeous red, pink and grey lobo. here are some more shots of their 'main' coral/fish tank. here's a tank that had a ton of brown montipora species. harlequin shrimp tank the sump and all the goodies for their 'reef machine' (hobbiest style reef tank) my gf (rachael) standing next to a giant clam shell to show the size of the clam (my gf is 5' 4") here are a few pictures of the large lagoon setup they had. now, we're on to my favorite portion of the aquarium. the outdoor carlson-surge (obviously) coral propagation system. i wish that i were allowed to take a frag home with me from this tank. the corals were absolutely vivid in color and most were pieces i would probably pay around 40 bucks a frag for. many mille, prostrata, seriatopora, and valida colonies (not to mention countless others i couldn't even fathom a guess on!). to show how large this system is, here is a picture of my gf standing on the surge tank side of the system. the surface of the system (notice the coral tips are out of the water). here are some pics of the different corals in the coral prop system (please ignore the glaringly embarassing reflections...i couldn't help them no matter what i tried!...i'm a coral person, not a photographer! ) here is the sign explaing coral propagation and the tank's setup. here is the overflowing clam tank (by overflowing, i mean that the entire tank is pumped full of water that overflows the top of the tank on all sides. very futuristic look.). some really really gorgeous clams in there! and finally, we come to one of my favorite creatures at the aquarium...the hawaiian monk seal. the two the aquarium had were very playful and seemed to pose for pictures for the tourists! Link to comment
ugination87 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 dood thats awesome! that clam tank is so great loking. hawaiis lovely Link to comment
Cuba Libre Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 nice pics! thanks for sharing Link to comment
Pili Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Awsome pictures!!! The coloration on that sps is amazing! Nice! Link to comment
stan Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I was there last March! Aww man that brings back memories...... Now i want some Loco Moco. Link to comment
proraptor Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Man that place looks awesome! Link to comment
jmt Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Some of the best coral displays I've ever seen from a public aquarium. Link to comment
Sparkling_Surfer Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Amazing. I was there when I was about 5 years old (about 14 years ago)... Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 the aquarium was definitely one of the highlights of the trip...well...that and seeing a few giant colonies of what looked to be similar to superman montipora in hanuma bay. (if you're at hanauma go directly in front of the lifeguard tower and snorkel straight out about 70 yrds...the colonies are about 10-20 yrds from the rocks where the inner reef 'ends' and the outer reef begins). when i get my underwater camera film back i'll see if the pics of the coral came out. Link to comment
Samoyed Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Some of the best coral displays I've ever seen from a public aquarium. i second that...OMG that clam was like 2 feet long!!! 1 Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 WOW!! that clam tang is SO COOL!!! ALSO the brakish water one interests me since i had no clue that Bangaii could live in Brackish Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 fishfreak- the higher end of 'brackish' waters specific gravity is around 1.015...which is fairly close to where most LFS (and all petco style stores) keep their specific gravity (helps combat parasites and the like). not to mention the fact that you can make any brackish fish 'saltwater' and any saltwater fish 'brackish'. it just takes a little time. on a side note, brackish fish being sold as saltwater fish (i.e. figure 8 puffers) irritate me. they are sold as brackish fish for around 5 bucks in my area...as soon as someone makes them a 'saltwater' fish their price triples or quadruples. freaking ridiculous. Link to comment
travisurfer Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 wow, that is one awesome aquarium. especially that crazy anemone tank. Link to comment
Six Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 this is THE aquarium. not like one of the best, it is the one all others emulate (at least in the states). did you see the gigas clam in the one shot? huge! i bet it was several feet across. do you know if they let the acro tanks in the latter shots go through a low tide? that would be awesome to see. Link to comment
Samoyed Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 this is THE aquarium. not like one of the best, it is the one all others emulate (at least in the states). did you see the gigas clam in the one shot? huge! i bet it was several feet across. do you know if they let the acro tanks in the latter shots go through a low tide? that would be awesome to see. does anyone know if the longbeach aquarium is good...im thinking of going there.. Link to comment
Maeda Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Everyone on this forum should visit. Thats the best tank there I swear. The clams could LITERALLY fit my entire 200lb body in there. I have a couple more pictures of the 'zero-edge' styled clam tank somewhere around here....... The large outdoor acro tank DOES go through a low tide and it's amazing. Next to the tank is a huge reservior that creates a huge tide every few minutes!!! Oh, and the LB aquarium is really nice. but not as coral related as the waikiki aquarium... Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 AWESOME photos. GOD I'd love to go there. No nautilus pics, eh? (Okay, so at one point I was hoping to keep said species and talked to them all about theirs and their successes with them.) Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 no, flo...no nautilus pics from me. i knew that i would be posting these pics on a few forums and couldn't fathom the idea of noobs believing that keeping bobtail squid, nautilus, and other cephs is 'easy'. noobs have a way of thinking that if someone can do it, they themselves can do it as well. freaking ridiculous! lol. if you get the chance to get out of dreary WA, head to oahu and check out the aquarium...it's funnnnnnn. Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Excellent point, Danny-o. I sure would love to go down there. I've been to Kauai and the big island..... With two half-Hawaiian coworkers, it'll probably end being more likely as it'll always be on my mind, heh. Awesome photos. Link to comment
shao-lin nano Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I really like the clam tank...remember seeing a few people toying with the "overflow" idea, wonder what ever happened to them. Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 Excellent point, Danny-o. I sure would love to go down there. I've been to Kauai and the big island..... With two half-Hawaiian coworkers, it'll probably end being more likely as it'll always be on my mind, heh. Awesome photos. man, flo, how is it that you go to hawaii and manage to not hit up maui?! i love how the two island that i want to visit the most are the two that you've visited though. lol. kauai is, for sure, the next island i'll be going to in hawaii. shao- the clam tank was awesome...i can't say that i remember anyone here thinking that they could reproduce the overflow idea. i'd love to see a noob try it out and flood his/her house though. Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Meh...The main island's nothing to write home about. It's alright, but Kauai is where it's at--awesome forests, beaches, etc. Next time it's Maui! PS, I still laugh EVERY time I read your sig. ihu Justin. No, wait, jmt sux. Link to comment
reefer21 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 sweet pics! makes me want to go now. Link to comment
Haagenize Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Man those anemones look almost as good as your gf =D Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 i'm not sure if i should be offended or if i should take that as a compliment... ...personally, i think my gf looks about a million times better than any invertebrate...and quite a few veterbrates as well (with the exception of a few key figures such as jessica alba, jessica simpson, and kim smith). thanks for reaffirming my beliefs that i lucked out with my gf. not only is she goodlooking but she actually enjoys reefing as well! thats like...unbeatable! lol. Link to comment
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