Well the one thing we didn't do was go on vacation! Summer
is typically the only real quiet time in the aquarium design and installation
game. Construction projects generally are under way, so if the addition of a
custom aquarium isn't already in the plan, we won't see as many new
installations. Mix in the fact that folks are taking vacations and busy getting
the kids back in school spells a less hectic time. That being the case, this
was a good opportunity to focus on infrastructure and internal growth for Blue
Planet.
Namely, our facility underwent some radical changes. New
flooring and entire new paint job through our 2000 square foot offices, fish
holding and work space along with new work stations, computers, servers and
furniture was an overdue upgrade.
Our fish holding system has been upgraded to low voltage and
enviro-friendly LED lighting. The use of LED lighting on aquariums, we feel, is
one of the greatest innovations in our industry in the past 10 years. As well as using less power to run, there are
no bulbs to replace and they simply look incredible as well.
Also, two years ago we changed our name from Aquariclean to
Blue Planet Aquarium Services. This
summer we changed our Blue Planet logo from the globe we have been using to
something that better displays what we do. The Cornflower Anemone and Angel
Fish logo in a cube 'aquarium' over the name and tag line 'Cutting Edge
Aquariums & Service' is something we poured over for days and are very
happy with the results of. This logo will be represented on all of our social
media sites like Facebook, Linkedin, our YouTube channel and blog as well as
our website. Also, new building signage, vehical wraps and employee uniforms
are all under way as well.
This summer we were also approached by the website About.com
to produce a series of aquarium how to videos. Take a look below with links;
1.
How to set up a salt water aquarium;
2.
How to start a salt water aquarium;
3.
How to select fish for a salt water aquarium;
4.
How to control water quality in a salt water
aquarium;
5.
How to add live coral to a salt water aquarium;
These videos were a lot of fun to shoot and put together,
hopefully they will help a lot of folks from beginners just getting started in
the hobby to seasoned veteran aquarists.
Shortly after the About.com shoot, we were approached by
Men's Health Magazine for a Q & A interview in the magazine's 'How to make
things better' section. We them gave some tips on how to make a freshwater
aquarium anything but typical. The article should be out in the next few
months.
Along with all these projects there were of course some aquarium
installations. We'll get to two in particular soon but one small one we were
thrilled to be a part of was a rehab and restart of a 160 gallon reef aquarium
in a science classroom at Providence St. Mel's Grade School in Chicago. All
labor and materials were donated by Blue Planet, as we were proud to offer our
services in an effort to have students learn about marine life in the
classroom. If not for the classroom, many of these kids would never have the
opportunity to be exposed to sea life at all.
There were two aquarium installations this summer that did
stand out in particular however. First off, we were approached by a mixed use
dormitory in downtown Chicago to install what first started to be a 50 gallon
freshwater aquarium. After a few meetings, freshwater became saltwater and 50
became 100, 100 became 200 and 200 (you can probably guess where I'm going with
this) became 300. The entire concept of the aquarium was to provide a barrier
in the entrance to keep kids from going around security (those crazy college
kids) and gaining access to the dorm rooms. We worked with a millworker to
design cabinetry the blended seamlessly with the wood tones and stains already
in use in the building, so the aquarium installation didn't look like an
afterthought. Now the aquarium houses numerous fish and is very popular with
students and staff alike. We'll be shooting some video of this aquarium and
developing a separate piece regarding the development and installation of this
aquarium on our YouTube channel shortly, stay tuned for that!
The other large installation we are just putting the wraps
on this week is a residence in Hinsdale, IL. No 'man cave' is complete without
an aquarium and this one was no exception. In particular, this basement rehab
when finished will house full arcade video games, pool table, flat screen TV's
(everywhere), a home theater, 2 bars and a industrial smoke eater for cigars in
the wine cellar. Just like your basement, right? The 'piece de resistance' of
this remodeling project is the 6 foot x 4 foot x 4 foot room divider style reef
aquarium. Over 400 gallons of capacity, this aquarium has all the bells and
whistles from 24 hour LED lighting that recreate sunrise, day time, sunset and
midnight, to wave generating pumps, water cooled and energy efficient chiller,
pumps, refugium and etc. Stay tuned for a follow up video on the design and
installation of this beauty as well on our YouTube channel.
We'd also like to announce that this past September marked
our 12 year anniversary. Many service clients have been with us from day one
and we'd like to thank each and every client for your patronage. In 12 years
we've seen many competitors come and go and we really feel we are just hitting
our stride. Our service department has some of the top techs we've ever had in its
ranks and we are constantly striving for excellence in service. From weekly
tech talks and hands on classroom time for our employees, to customer service
follow ups from our service manager and tech grading system, as well as 24 hour
emergency service and 30 day fish guarantee, Blue Planet strives to be the best
aquarium service company it can be.
Thanks for reading, for more information feel free to email
us here at Blue Planet, check out our social media outlets, website or give us
a call. We look forward to hearing from you!
They are such beautiful aquarium design!
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