Georgia Aquarium Behind the Scenes Tour

[dustin_P74]

ok so this is going to be a long series of photos, facts and stories. so lets get this party started.

outside shot for the hell of it

once inside we start our tour here, with the lab

these are biopsy slides

syringes

microscopes with digital cameras attached

this side is for general water parameter testing

and here is where the lab techs hang out and do some research and also talk to universities and aquariums around the world

 

[dustin_P74]

next up on our stop is the animal recovery room after surgery

this was on the wall, every reefers wet dream. it tells you every detail from water level, temperature, and if the protein skimmer is running down to how open a gate valve is.

in the hallway we see a pump they use (sorry for the blurriness)

gate valve

whale shark shipping container, has you can see by the placarded it was shipped by UPS. this was UPS' largest living animal shipment ever

also dont forget to wear your hard hat when mopping the floor

 

[dustin_P74]

now we are coming up on the surgery room that is in use

prep room

here is what they are preparing to operate on, poor turtle

now we see the prep kitchen for all fish food, made fresh daily

the fridge, where they defrost all frozen food for 24 hours before prep

now the freezer that i just mentioned, stuffed to the gills (pun intended) with food
obviously the marker is needed so you know what your looking at

dont want anyone stealing frozen seafood

 

[dustin_P74]

across from the freezer, seems like weird placement to me

moving down the hall we see this opening in the ceiling, keep this in mind for later on in the tour and itll make sense why it is there

under the hole are these pallets of salt, notice the brand, also each bag you see weighs 1 ton of pure salt

moving further down this hall we come up on the penguins who are off display because there is construction going on near there habit for the upcoming dolphin exhibit

this guy up top with the messed up feathers is actually molting at the moment

also if you see little colored tags on their fins its because they use those to denote the different sexes, pink marking female, blue tags are males. also interesting fact about penguins, they are nearly blind on land but have amazing vision under water


ok now we have made a short elevator ride and are on the third floor
looking to your right getting off the elevators you see these three tanks just sitting there, and every single small display throughout the aquarium is running on its own independent system

you also see this picture on the wall, if you can guess what it is of you will earn my eternal respect

more to come soon

 

[ndepratt]

very nice, are those whales? sperm whales or something?

 

[RyanG]

Cool shots Dustin, now tell us all the story as to how you got the behind the scenes tour.

Im with Nathan, it looks like a pod of beluga's only they are the wrong color, I havent seen a pink/orange/red whale pod yet. Its a cool shot though!

 

[dustin_P74]

very nice, are those whales? sperm whales or something?

very close

 

[dustin_P74]

Cool shots Dustin, now tell us all the story as to how you got the behind the scenes tour.

i know the owner. but to answer your question, i bought tickets, but the first sentence sounds better so im gonna stick with that

 

[RyanG]

Is it a pod of whale sharks? I know that sounds far fetched but I think there is one in the Phillipines.

 

[dustin_P74]

Is it a pod of whale sharks? I know that sounds far fetched but I think there is one in the Phillipines.

actually it was taken in the gulf, and id actually call it a herd because that is 74 whale sharks to be exact

 

[daugherty]

i think they look like whale sharks

 

[daugherty]

damb you got it first

 

[dustin_P74]

damb you got it first

there might be another picture like that popping up in this thread so keep your eye out for that

 

[daugherty]

i was wondering why you wernt on all day i guess this is why

 

[dustin_P74]

yep, didnt get back home til 6, and it looks like i missed some fun in the tank showcase forum

 

[RyanG]

Gulf of what? Mexico Tonkin Aden Capentaria Persian Gulf what gives dude! Haha J/K

 

[dustin_P74]

Gulf of what? Mexico Tonkin Aden Capentaria Persian Gulf what gives dude! Haha J/K

gulf of mexico

 

[daugherty]

yep is was some fun by the time i saw it ccapt closed it

 

[dustin_P74]

yep is was some fun by the time i saw it ccapt closed it

same here so i thanked him for closing it

 

[RyanG]

Sorry guys I think Alexander and I lost our tempers a little at the same time. Probably wasnt the right thing to do...eh yeah it was!