We were contacted by the curator of the 1.3 million litre aquarium that contains around 900 fish, including sharks! Thankfully he did not want us to go in the aquarium, but he wanted us to service the sand filters for the aquarium including replacing the current sand filter media that has been in for 10 years with Dryden AFM filter media.
As well as carrying out these works, we also had to install 3 variable speed inverters to the pumps, as for the Dryden AFM filter media to work at its best, the speeds of the pumps needed to be adjusted. The inverters also needed to work with the site-building management system so the system can be controlled remotely as well as alerting staff to any issues with the pumps. These works needed to be carried out in a very small timeframe with no downtime. Knowing we had 900 lives in our hands we knew we were up to the challenge.
The site had three 8-ton filters so there was a lot of sand filter media to remove – 24 tons, to be precise! We removed the sand filter media using our own custom-made, one-of-a-kind media extraction system that was used to fill four skips onsite with the sand filter media that we removed. Once the sand was removed, the internals of the filters were washed down before being inspected. Once the inspection was completed any required repairs were carried out and the laterals within the filter were replaced, the filter was then filled with water before we refilled the filter using our unique filling equipment and method. Once the filters were filled, new gaskets fitted and all ports closed up, the filters were fully tested.
While the filters were being serviced the inverters were installed to the pumps and linked into the BMS system allowing remote control and alert of any issues.
Having our staff working nearly around the clock, the works were completed on schedule and with no downtime. The site is now benefiting from the new Dryden AFM filter media keeping the water within the aquarium sparkling.
For all sand filter, servicing or aquarium works contact JB Elite Services on 01536 646 007 or [email protected]