WATER
Redeveloping and upgrading
Reef HQ Aquarium’s plant infrastructure for the future
Aquarists corralling the barramundi ready for relocation within Reef HQ Aquarium.
Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium and was originally designed to make experiencing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef accessible and affordable, while also spreading the Reef conservation message and gaining public support for the protection of the ‘real thing’. However, since its opening in 1987, the aggressive tropical environment of the region and the stress of holding in excess of four million litres of saltwater have impacted the facility, resulting in the need for a major refurbishment and upgrade of aging infrastructure to ensure optimal operation. Pump Industry spoke to Sasha Thyer an expert at Reef HQ Aquarium about the redevelopment and upgrades, including those undertaken to the plant room, fire systems, life support systems, and hydraulic systems.
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ince the transformation of Reef HQ Aquarium began in 2019, the Australian Government has committed $80.1 million to develop a global centre of excellence in tropical coral reef education. The works are occurring in stages with early works undertaken to improve aquatic life support systems.
Early works program
The early works program focused on a number of projects that primarily aimed to resolve critical safety issues, as well as other works required to relocate and upgrade connected systems at the same time. “The early works program was necessary to address the most urgent rectification requirements of aging critical systems at Reef HQ Aquarium affecting safety, function and animal life support systems,” Ms Thyer said. “Fundamental building services required replacing or upgrading, including the building’s electrical network, elements
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pump industry | Autumn 2022 | Issue 39
of the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Chilling and Refrigeration (HVAC&R), building structural elements, and animal life support systems. “The Aquarium is 35 years old, and located in a hot, humid seawater environment in North Queensland, which requires highly durable equipment and systems. It is also unique in its function – being home to the largest living coral reef aquarium, with a total of four million litres of seawater being integrated into the building structures. The Coral Reef Exhibit (CRE) requires 24/7 uninterrupted power and stability for key water quality parameters, thus system failures can become critical quite quickly.” Careful and highly detailed programming and contingency planning began more than 18 months before the site was handed over to a Principal Contractor to manage the remaining scope of works, including likely latent issues that may be exposed during the construction phase.
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