mFrame Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks to the Austin Aquarium, its staff, and all the ARC members who took the time to visit the Austin Aquarium last night. We appreciate the opportunity that was provided to visit the Aquarium and look behind the scenes. As discussed last night, this is the place to post your comments. There are a few simple rules we'd like to follow in this thread, so please help us adhere to them. Please don't comment here if you DID NOT attend the club tour last night, even if you have been to the aquarium on your own. Please provide two sections to your review: the things you liked and the things you thought could be improved. Please phrase any negatives in the form of constructive criticism and recommendations on how or what could be done to improve things. You can be honest about what you thought, but do so respectfully. Like the rest of the site, this thread is moderated. Don't be surprised if you violate the rules and your post is edited, but do your best to adhere to them so that we don't have to. Please remember, the Austin Aquarium did not have to invite us to visit and certainly didn't have to do so free of charge. The staff stayed after hours to accommodate us, so let's show them the same courtesy in our responses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Again, I'll second the thanks to the aquarium for the tour and the back stage passes. Let's start with this. I am not the target audience, as they admitted. The target audience is child-folk. Fairly short ones based on the knee-high tanks. As a non-parenting adult, I will not try to review this in any way as to what kids will and will not like about it. I am an adult, and I will tell you what i think based on that. Things I Liked: I think the concept of the Glastron style boat tank was pretty interesting. I think some of the other tank designs were interesting, too. With the exception of one, perhaps two, tanks they were all clean and healthy looking with crystal clear water and good lighting (for viewing). The place, for the most part, seemed clean (public and backstage areas). Things I Didn't Like: The place is small, which can be fine. But none of the displays were really that interesting. None of them really caught my eye and made me want to stop and spend time staring at them. I found myself "done" in less than an hour. Had I paid $15 I would have felt ripped off. Two be fair, I think part of it is that it is young. The tanks were lacking much in the way of color and large interesting species/landscapes. I would consider going back to it in a year or so and seeing if things have matured and become more interesting. Although, even with a fairly small group with no ill-behaved children running around, the place was still a bit crowded (yeah, ok, so i don't do well in crowds, but i am speaking for me here). They had two exhibits that are planned to hold seals and otters. To me, admittedly untrained, these seemed tiny. The may well meet all the codes and standards for appropriate sized displays. In fact, I'm sure they do if such standards exist. But I imagine that if i went in and saw a seal or two in that little ring, or a couple of otters cruising around that little slide, I would have felt bad for them. The octopus display was closed off (the employee said that it was due to a leaky tank that was being rebuilt), but it also seems like it would have been small. I would be wondering if the animals lived somewhere in the back with a little more room and just had to go to the office every day. Overall Impressions, I was just underwhelmed. I would not recommend this to anyone except maybe people with small children. If I go back to see the displays in a year it will be more for science than entertainment. Hopefully, though, I would be pleasantly surprised. I have other comments, but I'm not certain if they fit the criteria of "constructive". I may pop back in and mention more as I see how the tone of the discussions go and how it is moderated. Or we can go have a beer in a not-too-crowded bar . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eel Keeper Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Your welcome to pm me, and I might be able to help you with any misunderstanding for instance there would only be two small fur seals, and the otters will be dwarf otters. Also most octopi live in small caves only coming out for food mostly. But yes it is still a very new aquarium that is improving, and changing day to day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 i think that this forum is a perfect place to help correct any misunderstandings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Your welcome to pm me, and I might be able to help you with any misunderstanding for instance there would only be two small fur seals, and the otters will be dwarf otters. Also most octopi live in small caves only coming out for food mostly. But yes it is still a very new aquarium that is improving, and changing day to day. Thanks eel keeper. I appreciate that. I tried to be clear that that was offered as someone unqualified to really assess whether the it is technically an adequate space. It was my amature opinion based on other exhibits I've seen for similar animals. I was trying hard to toe the line between a knowledgable critique and what I'd tell my friends and family if they asked. This concerns me enough that I'd definately mention it early in a conversation with anyone who asks about the aquarium, and i will ask about it to anyone I meet who has seen the animals in there later. For what that's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10gReef Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I really enjoyed the visit. It was great getting to see how they setup the sump rooms and insulated some of the tanks with spray foam. The ipad information tablets were a nice touch but might have changed slides a little fast making it difficult to consume all the provided information. I thought the boat anemone tank was awesome and very unique. I felt the overall venue could use more decor, specifically overhead to hide the acoustic ceiling. I also notice where there were posters just taped to the walls near nice exhibits. I think being consistent with aesthetics will definitely improve a visitors experience and can influence the ambiance. From what I could tell most of the fish looked healthy and had adequate space for movement. I enjoyed the variety of species. Thank you Austin Aquarium. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I wasn't able to make it but did anyone get any pictures they can post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I believe pictures were taken and will be posted up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dustin Blevins Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 First of all, thank you to the staff that stayed late to let us critique your set up! I will just dive in and list my pros and cons to the Aquarium. Pros: - I think the aquarium is great for children. There seemed to be a lot of child oriented tanks such as the touch tanks and the peak tank (not sure if that's what it is called, but it's the tank where little people can go in and see the tank from inside) - For the most part, everything seemed pretty healthy - It seemed like they had a set plan for taking care of the tanks, feeding, and checking water parameters - The staff was very well educated on the exhibits Cons: - This is definitely not an aquarium for the hobbyists (yet). The majority of the fish here were something most people could see in hobbyist aquariums or at the local LFS. But this could change as the tanks mature. - Pretty small, but one could assume this by seeing the location. - My main issue with the aquarium was the reptile section, and possibly because that is what I have the most knowledge in and have spent most of my adult life doing. I am really curious if many of the staff know how to take care of all the reptiles in their exhibits and why some are set up the way they are. - I do not think they should be keeping male/female pairs of any reptile their. I noticed they kept a pair of Sailfin Dragons and Jackson Chameleons in together. It is not going to be long before there are baby chameleons(Jackson Chameleons give live birth and the parents do eat the babies) in the tiny enclosure they are in and eggs growing in the Sailfin Dragon female. If there is not a proper laying area for the Sailfin female she could become eggbound and die due to not laying her eggs properly. And if there are tons of people staring at her the stress alone could keep her from laying the eggs. The other issue with keeping the chameleons together in such a small enclosure is that it may create issues with one of them eating. I have seen it many times that one chameleon will out compete the other and no one notice until it is too late (I used to run a Chameleon Rescue and this was a very common issue when animals were kept together). - My last issue was just the enclosure the Jackson Chameleons were kept in. I felt like it was way to small for an arboreal reptile (much less two) and that the humidity was very low. They are from the mountain areas that are cooler and have a SUPER high humidity. The humidity in the Dart Frogs enclosure was probably a better humidity for the Chameleons. I'm sorry the "cons" is longer than the "pros", I did think the aquarium would be a great place for children to experience aquatic life! I love places that get children to engage with animals because I think that is something that really needs to continue to be passed on through the generations! I just think some things need to change with the reptile area, no child wants to see a baby get eaten by the parents! If anyone that works for the Aquarium would like some pointers on the reptiles please feel free to PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nwehrman Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Ok - I went with a very open mind. I understand none of the tanks were fully stocked due to everything being newly set up. It is definitely geared towards children's entertainment not adults. My four year old will love it ... He will love the all the touch tanks. Adults probably not as much ... something more needs to engage the adults - trivia and facts on the walls between tanks would be possibility? Several things that need improvement are the freshwater areas - the African Cichlid tank for one needs lots of places for territory establishment. There is a total of three freshwater tanks (I believe...correct me if I'm wrong) and I for one would like to see some more, after all it is the Austin Aquarium. The birds,reptiles and amphibians are all good diversity but it's an aquarium...I had hoped both fresh and salt would have good representation of tanks. Question - I forgot to ask but maybe some else did? The construction next door is for ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason & Amber Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The construction next door is a gym. Apparently the employees at the aquarium are getting free memberships. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 It's been a super busy week for me but here at my thoughts on the aquarium. I don't know the exact final number but I think we were at 60 people and once we got everyone through the initial doors I didn't feel like it was too crowded. I stuck by the tour guides most of the time and took the sump room tour. Everything in the room was clean and labeled. I took my time and checked out all the fish and nothing looked stressed or infected and the water looked and smelled clean. Since these tanks are catered to kids I thought they were set up nicely and not a bunch of 10g thrown together or mismatched tanks. I even witnessed a family touching the anemone together and they were all smiles which is what I think the aquarium is all about. Pros: I would love to take my nephew and niece here. I don't really have anything in my tank that they can touch but they do like splashing water and saying "fish, fish" whenever they see one. They do have employees that care for the animals since they have their wish lists and the tanks were well maintained. I wasn't a fan of the Chinese Leds on the coral tanks but it looks like they've remedied it with MHs. Just wish they had at least one 210 gallon JeeperTy or Juiceman SPS dominated tanks. It was also a very clean, open, well lighted aquarium and it was nice to see the different tanks and animals. Cons: I am not sure if the kids are closely watched when they was their hands but I felt that the 2 tiny sinks, one outside in the lobby and the other inside the doorway, just wasn't sufficient enough to get a class of kids hands cleaned. I would of liked to have seen about 3 Rudy's hand washing stations in a row even before you walk in. Another thing I observed was all the signage was only in English and Austin has a very strong Hispanic background. This should be a very easy fix but it should also be brightly colored to help kids focus since their getting sensory overload with all the fish. I wasn't a fan of their power failure plan. In the event of a power failure someone has to come in, gas up the generator, and then run extension cords. Although I'm not sure what type of alert system they are using for power failures a couple backup battery UPS would ensure they don't lose any livestock. And staying on the power issue I didn't feel their temperature probes were good enough. If they lost a heater overnight they would not know until the a.m. at the very least whenever someone manually checked all tank temperature. I don't know if what they were using has a high/low beeping feature but an arduino based reef controller would save an employee time every day to work on more tank maintenance and ensure temps are correct as well as alert to any broken heaters which can raise the temperature quickly due to malfunction. Having this very cheap controller would ensure that power to the heater was shut down in these instances. All in all there's always room for improvement and this is a great addition for children and to Austin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I love this thread and the opportunity for our community to share positives and constructive criticism. Is there a reason that those of us who have visited on our own are not invited to add our thoughts in adherance with the guidelines? Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I have to apologize to everyone that I have not posted up photos of the tour yet. I think I have to agree with everyone that the aquarium is indeed set up mainly for children and that is quite alright with me. It is nice that I can take my son and educate him on the things that I know about, but I too would like to be educated on things. I did appreciate all the staff and them allowing us to take a tour or the aquarium. I will do my best to get the photos up this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 I love this thread and the opportunity for our community to share positives and constructive criticism. Is there a reason that those of us who have visited on our own are not invited to add our thoughts in adherance with the guidelines? Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4 This thread was specifically for feedback about the tour (and the backstage tour aspect) that ARC members took so we were restricting discussion to help provide feedback to the Austin Aquarium Staff. I think they and our members have had time to post and read the posts here so I'm fine with others adding their overall feedback of the aquarium. As you mentioned though, let's please continue to stick to the guidelines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Going to be swinging by AA to give them our Thank You letter for allowing us a behind the scenes tour. Thanks to Mike for getting it together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Photos are posted. http://www.austinreefclub.com/gallery/album/615-austin-aquarium-tour/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Photos are posted. http://www.austinreefclub.com/gallery/album/615-austin-aquarium-tour/ Thanks jake. A bunch of great pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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