Dc aquarium

[iangibby]

I was told there was a large acropora "elkhorn" on display here. We went yesterday and enjoyed the little they had but didnt see any live acropora?!?! We saw the nice sign for wamas. Does the club help service the tanks there? Is there a plan in the future for an elkhorn display?

Edited September 20, 2010 by iangibby

[Incredible Corals]

I was told there was a large acropora "elkhorn" on display here. We went yesterday and enjoyed the little they had but didnt see any live acropora?!?! We saw the nice sign for wamas. Does the club help service the tanks there? Is there a plan in the future for an elkhorn display?

 

On a side note, do we get any discounts there?

[davelin315]

No discounts. The sign is because we donated the Guam Reef tank. It's not in the best shape all of the time due to government red tape and other issues, but it's something that we can say we were part of and it's the first joint effort between an aquarium and an aquarium society that I know of.

[Hoyden]

I was told there was a large acropora "elkhorn" on display here.

 

Just curious, who told you that? I am guessing that either someone misinterpreted an article in the latest Watermarks, the National Aquarium magazine or saw the large fake one in the Buck Island exhibit. This is NADC's Atlantic live coral exhibit. It was just built this year and has some fake coral in it as well as live corals. None of the live corals are very big yet so the fake coral keeps the exhibit from looking empty. There just aren't very many large pieces of Caribbean hard corals available in captivity due to their endangered status (and the fact that most reef tank keepers like the generally more colorful and diverse Pacific corals). The aquarists at NADC are very involved in SECORE and Leah Neal, the aquarist in charge of the Buck Island exhibit recently returned from a SECORE trip to Curacao. Give it a couple of years and there will be some decent sized colonies of elkhorn there - just not yet.

 

Jackie Cooper

[iangibby]

Thanks hoyden for clearing that up. I found that same article. Someone from another club is setting up a trip there although its a nice place to visit I wouldnt make it the main reason for the trip.

[Coral Hind]

iangibby, Did you happen to take any pictures you can share? I'm just wondering if it has improved any since I was there last year. It was kind of a disappointing trip to me.

[Incredible Corals]

iangibby, Did you happen to take any pictures you can share? I'm just wondering if it has improved any since I was there last year. It was kind of a disappointing trip to me.

 

100% agree with that. Me and some friends went last year expecting a mini Baltimore Aquarium. I remember telling my wife that I've seen better aquariums by visiting club members houses to trade corals.

[iangibby]

From what I saw there wasnt really anything out of the ordinary to photograph. The nautilus display was really cool but they dont allow photos of that display. I did take a picture of the 3ft clam shell ill post it this evening. Too bad its not free like the rest of the museums in the city.

[Dragon Eye]

It's not in the best shape all of the time due to government red tape and other issues, but it's something that we can say we were part of and it's the first joint effort between an aquarium and an aquarium society that I know of.

 

Not sure when it was started, as I recently got here. However I do know the Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society and it's members donated a reef tank and coral to the Minnesota Zoo two years ago. The curator for the saltwater exhibit is a member of the club and since there is a lot of issues with funding, etc... When donated items grew out he would trade back with club members to add diversity to the tank. The club also was able to hold a meeting there and get a behind the scenes tour of that area of the zoo. Needless to say it's the nicest donated reef tank I've seen. A lot of it has to do with the members willingness to donate and spend time assisting and educating and problem solving with the zoo. I should add the club and atmosphere is a little different than it is here, but each club has it's own successes in the way things are done.

 

I think this is a great thing for any club to be involved in and certainly contributes to an educational component of the hobby we all enjoy.

[davelin315]

The quarantine process for the NADC is very difficult, with 90 days for anything that goes into the tank. We have donated some of the corals in there, but the process for donation is difficult with a lot of issues with nomenclature and coordinating bringing livestock into a secure government building (no liquids into the building!). We have had socials and meetings there with the last scheduled one being thwarted by scheduling with security.

[ErikS]

100% agree with that. Me and some friends went last year expecting a mini Baltimore Aquarium. I remember telling my wife that I've seen better aquariums by visiting club members houses to trade corals.

LMAO - yep, it's what it's always been..........a joke. Shut it down & save the embarrassment.

[Coral Hind]

A lot of it has to do with the members willingness to donate and spend time assisting and educating and problem solving with the zoo. I should add the club and atmosphere is a little different than it is here, but each club has it's own successes in the way things are done.

 

I thought about donating some of my larger SPS last year and then I took a trip down there. I just felt like I would be sending the corals to their doom. Not to beat them up, but they seem to lack some of the basics in reef keeping.

 

Now the National Zoo's invert house, I would feel totally safe donating any of my corals to them.

 

Can you detail how this club's atmosphere is different? Any ideas to make the club better?

[BowieReefer84]

I thought about donating some of my larger SPS last year and then I took a trip down there. I just felt like I would be sending the corals to their doom. Not to beat them up, but they seem to lack some of the basics in reef keeping.

 

Now the National Zoo's invert house, I would feel totally safe donating any of my corals to them.

 

Can you detail how this club's atmosphere is different? Any ideas to make the club better?

The National Zoo has an awesome reef/invert display(s). Definately worth seeing, and time well spent. The anenome display is HUGE with tons of different colors. They also have a mantis shrimp which I like haha.

[iangibby]

Heres the large clam shell

[Dragon Eye]

 

 

Can you detail how this club's atmosphere is different? Any ideas to make the club better?

 

I don't want to take this thread off track, but I'll be glad to speak with anyone. Different isn't bad, different is just different!.

[davelin315]

Kristi, feel free to drop an email or a phone call to any of the officers or even start up a dialogue in the members forum, we always appreciate ideas and feedback!

[Hoyden]

LMAO - yep, it's what it's always been..........a joke. Shut it down & save the embarrassment.

 

I am going to own my biases right up front. I have been volunteering with NAIB and NADC for about 6 years, putting in well over 2000 hours with them. In the last year, I have been spending one or two (or occasionally three) days every week at NADC. Having said that, the NADC is not what it has always been - there was a complete revamp that began in 2004 and is on-going. It is not the aquarium that it will/can be, but it is certainly improved. It is important to keep in mind a couple of things:

1. The National Aquarium in DC is in the same space that it has been in since 1932 so space is very limited and there is no option for expansion in the current location. Other possibilities may exist in the not-so-distant future, but for now the space is what it is.

2. After it lost all federal funding in 1982, it was taken over by a private group which did a pretty horrible job running it. In 2003, the group signed an alliance agreement with the National Aquarium in Baltimore and gradually a new staff was brought in to operate and renovate the aquarium. All of the renovations have been on a shoestring budget with the staff doing almost all of the construction.

3. The NOAA grant that funded most of the renovations put some pretty strict boundaries on what is displayed in each tank (at least as far as the saltwater tanks). If, for example, you are looking at the Buck Island Marine Reserve tank, you can be sure that all of the living things in that tank are found in the Buck Island Marine Reserve. This is way more restrictive than is typical and makes stocking some of the exhibits complicated. This is why things have to be identified so carefully before adding them to an exhibit.

4. And this may be the most important thing, we (avid marine hobbyists) are not their target market

[Hoyden]

From what I saw there wasnt really anything out of the ordinary to photograph. The nautilus display was really cool but they dont allow photos of that display. I did take a picture of the 3ft clam shell ill post it this evening. Too bad its not free like the rest of the museums in the city.

 

You can take photos of the Nautilus, just don't use flash. It is not "free" like the rest of the museums in the city because it is not directly supported by your tax dollars like the Smithsonian museums are... and AFAIK, the Smithsonian museums and the Holocost museum are the only free shows in town. Pretty sure almost every other museum charges...