Here at the Two Oceans Aquarium, we strive to keep our exhibits as diverse as the South African coastline and always offer our visitors something new … And sometimes, that means slightly uncomfortable periods of change, change that will ultimately lead to great improvements and a better experience for all.
Because of important and much-needed maintenance work and several upgrades, the predator exhibit has closed, and, from 18 July, the Ocean Basket Kelp Forest Exhibit will also close. This is a temporary situation and is in preparation for great new additions and renovations.
These two exhibits have not received this care and attention in 21 years – since the Aquarium’s opening in 1995. We apologise for any inconvenience that you may experience while the construction work is underway.
The predator exhibit animals have either been released or moved, the water has been drained, and the rockwork is being removed from the shell of this, our largest exhibit. We know you love sharks – so do we! – so we are repairing and upgrading this space to make way for a new, improved dedicated shark exhibit – coming to you in 2017.
Right now, contractors and consultants are carefully examining the empty predator exhibit from the inside. “First, we needed to strip out everything - the rockwork, the protein skimmers, the drum filters, the old turtle area, the quarantine area [on top of the predator exhibit],” says Two Oceans Aquarium Technical Manager Mike de Maine. “The engineers just want a concrete structure left for them to examine. The contractors will now come in, remove all the gravel from the tank using a crane, then they will strip all the old waterproofing lining off the tank, and then we can start the work on the concrete.”
After the exhibit has been stripped down to bare concrete, the engineers will undertake a detailed survey of the exhibit to determine where waterproofing has come off walls, and mark it all up so that they can then find out exactly what needs to be done to get the tank back into tip-top shape. We don’t know yet whether the large acrylic windows will have to be removed – only time will tell.
Then, when the kelp forest’s time comes, the same steps will be taken. Says Mike: “After the school holidays, we’ll take out all the fish, drain the water, and remove all the rockwork, and then repeat the same process.”
According to Two Oceans Aquarium Assistant Curator Claire Taylor, “the kelp exhibit will remain a kelp exhibit once it reopens, but we’d like to put in beautiful granite boulders, like those divers would see in the kelp forests off Clifton in Cape Town.” The fish that are currently in the kelp exhibit will mostly be housed at the Aquarium while they wait to be reintroduced to the new kelp forest exhibit: we're building a brand new quarantine area to help accommodate them!
In the meantime, don’t forget that we have a stunning new large-scale exhibit, the I&J Ocean Exhibit, as well as the mesmerizing new Jelly Gallery, both of which opened in June. We’ll keep you posted on all developments as they happen here on our blog – it’s a wonderful opportunity for you to discover more about the inside-the-scenes workings of two of your favourite exhibits.
