Photos: Monterey Bay Aquarium volunteer divers keep exhibit clean - San mateo county times

Posted: 05 Oct 2020 09:10 AM PDT

Click here if you are having trouble viewing the slideshow on a mobile device.

Your standard fish tank holds 10 to 55 gallons of water and contains a handful or more of fish. Depending on what needs to be done, a person can clean the tank in about 45 minutes. Now compare that to the 2.3 million gallons of water in the tanks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which hold 35,000 aquatic creatures. You'll need help. Lots of it — from volunteer divers, who step up to the plate.

The aquarium's doors may be closed to visitors because of the COVID-19 shutdown, but these volunteers are still on the job, plunging into the tanks three times a week to scrub the thick acrylic walls and vacuum the tank bottoms to keep them clean.

Watsonville diver Alice Bourget has been doing this for more than 25 years, typically as part of a team of more than 100 volunteer divers. During the pandemic, about 35 active volunteers are shouldering the load.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Bourget and two fellow divers met with the aquarium's divemaster — yes, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a divemaster — to discuss the job ahead, in this case the massive Kelp Forest exhibit.

First, the wave-making device, which keeps the current circulating through the undulating kelp forest, was turned off to help keep the divers stationary in the water. Next, the large vacuum and its long hose, used to clean the tank's bottom, were made ready. Then Bourget and the other volunteers donned their gear and descended into the 28-foot deep tank, one of the tallest aquatic exhibits in the world.

With a sponge in one hand, Bourget made her way to the first of the windows, using a suction cup to anchor her in position in an exhibit filled with marine life. Among them: leopard sharks, which average 4.5 feet and weigh 22 pounds, and a giant sea bass, California's largest nearshore fish, which weighs in around 130 pounds.

For Bourget, volunteering is a way of giving back and showing gratitude to a cause she loves. And it's not all work. Once, while cleaning the Open Seas tank, a green sea turtle wanted to play — and became such a playful pest, Bourget couldn't finish her task. It's not just cleaning, either. On one dive, Bourget and her dive buddy brought a huge wolf eel up for treatment, after noticing that it had a bloated stomach, a symptom of digestive issues.

Lately, her favorite task is anything near the school of anchovies.

"I love how they move as a group and swirl about reflecting the sun, then split into two schools, then rejoin," she says. "I find it mesmerizing."

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has used volunteer divers even before it opened to the public in 1984. Bourget was smitten on her first visit there.

"I realized what a great and beautiful organization it is," she says. "After watching the diver at the feeding show, I asked the docent how I could participate. They directed me to the volunteer office, and within a year, I became a volunteer diver."

There is no official reopening date for the aquarium as yet, not until Monterey County case metrics achieve the state and county thresholds that allow indoor venues, such as museums and aquariums to reopen. But plans are in place for that day: Guests over age two will be required to wear face coverings, and the number of visitors will be capped, ensuring a low enough attendance to allow for social distancing.

Until then, you can click here to watch live webcams of the animals at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The webcams feature the sea otter tank, kelp forest tank, bird aviary, penguins, open sea tank, jellyfish tanks and live views of Monterey Bay.

What is aquascaping and how to get started? - Eastern Daily Press

Posted: 05 Oct 2020 11:30 AM PDT

PUBLISHED: 19:30 05 October 2020

Emma Lee

Aquascaping is the art of creating beautiful plant-filled fish tanks. Picture: Scaped Nature

Archant

The aquascaping trend is growing – but what exactly is it?

Scaped Nature in Norwich has everything you need to get started with aquascaping. Picture: Scaped Nature

During lockdown, many of us turned to caring for our gardens as means of switching off and having a break from the news cycle. But if you haven't got any outside space, or if you're finding an afternoon in the garden less enticing as autumn sets in, there's no need to miss out of the benefits of growing and nurturing plants.

Houseplants have never been more popular – a quick search of Instagram returns 4.7m hits with the hashtag #houseplants. But a shop in Norwich can help you take it to the next level.

Scaped Nature, in St Giles Street, specialises in aquascaping and naturescaping.

Described by shop owner Ray McCune as "an artform", aquascaping is about creating beautiful, plant-filled environments to keep your fish in – the days of decorating your tank with a plastic novelty castle are long gone.

Scaped Nature also offers everything you need to create a terrarium. Picture: Scaped Nature

"It's a hobby which enables people to connect and enjoy the beauty of nature indoors," says Ray. "It brings together a love of nature and plants together with fish keeping," he explains.

Ray discovered aquascaping when he was setting up a fish tank for his young son.

"Whenever we'd go into a pet store, he'd get excited about the fish. I didn't know anything about fish keeping until I started setting up the tank."

Ray came across aquascaping videos by the likes of George Farmer and Green Aqua, which is based in Hungary, on YouTube and soon found himself immersed in his new hobby creating underwater wonderlands.

"When I saw what some people were creating, after I set up my son's tank I got another one and did one for myself and a little while later I got another one," he says.

"It's a very mindful activity. When you are working on your tank, you are not thinking about anything else. You're in the moment and there are a lot of benefits in terms of mental health. It's got the caretaker role to it – it's very nourishing looking after it and it's a very interactive thing, something that evolves over time and is always changing, it's really engaging."

Ray's wife, Gill, a natural health therapist with a particular interest in women's health, enjoys making terrariums, miniature gardens in bottles and jars, and kokedama, a type of Japanese hanging basket which can be displayed indoors or outdoors.

And they decided to open Scaped Nature to pass on their passions to others. George Farmer and Green Aqua provided advice along the way and the shop opened in January 2019.

"I had left my previous job and had been a full-time Dad and it was time to go back to work," says Ray. "And a lot of people have got into the hobby as a result of coming into the store."

They stock tanks and cabinets, lighting, rock and wood decorative items and plant care products – and plants, of course.

For inspiration, tanks are on display in the shop, and they're very happy to chat and provide advice.

"Anubias, Bucephalandra, Microsorum and mosses are all very popular groups of plants in aquascaping," says Ray. "There are many different varieties of these plants and they're all classified as easy, meaning they're relatively undemanding in terms of light and CO2. This means they can be grown in low or high energy tanks. They're also epiphyte plants which means they are attached to rock or wood and have no need for soil making them very versatile in all sorts of layouts.

"Some of the most popular plants we use to create terrariums are small ferns, marginal grasses, fittonia, mosses and the occasional ficus ginseng in larger layouts," he continues. "We find these plants work well together, enjoying the same conditions (high humidity and moist soil) while having contrasting colours and textures. Most of our terrariums make use of bun or cushion moss because of its neat, ornamental look."

While Ray describes having to close the shop in March as "a bit of a scary time", they were able to move their focus to the web.

"Luckily we found that online came to the rescue and started to compensate for the sales. During lockdown people who were already into it started spending more time on their tanks, which really helped us. I think a lot of people found it a therapeutic activity."

Scaped Nature is open by appointment. Visit scapednature.com or phone 01603 761900 for information.

If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Eastern Daily Press. Click the link in the orange box above for details.

Search This Blog

Acuarium