SeaLife London: cleaner, quieter, more economical, more sustainable

Happy are they at SeaLife in London.

The iconic aquarium's water quality has improved significantly since SaveMyAquarium's collaborating parties tackled the systems there. The first four Life Support Systems (LSS) received a total refit in four weeks, controlled by the latest ARBO pumps. Among the results were huge energy savings.

'‘Yes, this was a wonderful project of course, in an iconic location, near the London Eye,’' says Harald Matien. Together with Mark Smeenk from RDW Processing, he was responsible for the installation and automation. ''We had already done similar projects at Blijdorp Zoo. They were impressed with that in London, so after the report and recommendations from ATO Energysaving, RDW Processing, after a brief introduction, was able to get to work there as well.''

SeaLife's aquarium, like Blijdorp's, was running old systems of a type widely used worldwide. ,

We know that system well by now,‘’ Matien says. We know where the weak spots are and thus the areas for improvement, which we then include in the ‘refit’ of the filtration system.'

At the heart of this are new energy-efficient pumps from ARBO, which make for a much quieter and quieter unit. Good for the water quality and for the tranquility of the marine animals. In addition, a different filter medium came in and the whole thing was automated. The thorough approach means the systems are again ready for many years of operation.

,,We have seen this before with clients such as Blijdorp and Burgers' Zoo,‘’ says John Wasser of ARBO. ,,There we also worked together intensively with great results. We just know each other very well and understand exactly what we can expect from each other and what the customer needs.''

For four weeks, the RDW team and a handful of people worked long hours to get the job done as quickly as possible. This succeeded because the preliminary work had already been done perfectly. Efficiency expert Aldo van Tongeren (ATO Energysaving) had made a meticulous scan of the systems months earlier to see where improvements could be made.

Looking further

All in all, these are hefty jobs, also because the men like to think along. ,,That's especially Mark. He is the technical brain. For example, we are asked to replace only pumps and valves, but we often look a step further. Is the system functioning properly or are adjustments needed to make it work optimally? What goal do you want to achieve? How should the water quality be and what do you need to achieve it? To take full advantage of the high efficiency of the pumps, it is important that the piping system are also designed to achieve optimal system efficiency. In the case of SeaLife, this resulted in us being allowed to undertake several new projects after the “refit” of four complete systems.''

,,Among other things, we were tasked with creating and then implementing a new, improved design for the existing water treatment plant. A good portion of the water was drained through the sewer system. Now it doesn't. Thanks to the improved treatment, the water is optimally reused."

Fully automated

The result is impressive. The “refit” saves SeaLife London 400,000 kwh annually, making the payback period for the investment relatively short. The water is cleaner, the system quieter, the operation simpler. The old PVC pipes have been replaced by PE, which is much more durable due in part to the lack of glue joints. ,,On the floor there were puddles of water under the systems. That is quite normal for such installations in old age. Now everything is bone dry and you can just talk to each other. The system runs much quieter and quieter.''

Thanks to automation, less manual labor is involved. '‘Before backwashing the sand filter, employees had to manually open and close taps every day,’' Matien explains. ''That is no longer necessary, so they can focus on more useful work. The operation is now fully automatic.''

The work of the SaveMyAquarium partners tastes like more in London. Meanwhile, the Dutch specialists have been asked to convert a basin into a quarantine basin, including new, automated, pump/filter systems. Matien: ,,That says something about how satisfied they are.