Presuming this is recently-shot footage, this 13,000-gallon (49,000-L) outdoor reef aquarium is in its infancy based on the size of the corals and lack of substantial coralline algae growth. That said, this outdoor installation holds promise. It’s entirely new to the CORAL staff, and we don’t know anything about it at the moment, other than it is known as “Steve’s Backyard Ocean” on Instagram, where you’ll currently see just two more videos.
We can say that there is some level of ingenuity in placing a system of this scale outdoors, just in case something catastrophic were to happen. Of course, we have questions. What about supplemental lights for night viewing? How are overhead predators (birds) kept at bay? What happens when it rains?
Of course, this isn’t the first outdoor reef aquarium; there are notable ones in Israel and Hawaii. We’re certainly curious to learn more and to see this system grow.
Give it a look and share your thoughts!
I just watched his “Introducing my 13,000 gallon backyard reef tank” on YouTube. When he panned over the tank from above it looks like there is an automated pool hard cover system in stand-by mode. I could not tell if he had modified the panels to make them translucent. I found it odd there was no hooks for netting protecting the tank.
I can personally attest that no matter what precautions one takes, the birds somehow get their tithe. I had several fish disappear from my outdoor holding system despite their only being a small gap for the birds to snatch the fish through, Every fish that was picked off was highly reflective and eye catching, which is why the birds noticed them from a distance. Other more dour fish were ignored.
I would love to see more info about the outdoor reef. Living in north west Pennsylvania, I’ll never have one, but i am curious