On Tuesday, Sea Life Orlando Aquarium reached a new construction milestone as aquarists filled the aquarium’s Atlantic Ocean habitat with more than 192,000 gallons of water. It will take approximately two days to fill up the entire Atlantic Ocean habitat.
Upon completion, aquarists will work to fill more than 30 additional habitats. The water for all the habitats will go through a customized filtration system where salt will be added and over the coming months the aquarium’s sea animals, which include sea stars, rays, sharks and more, that will begin to arrive.
Rowdy Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductee, NBC swimming analyst, and Central Florida resident joined Steve Blair, Curator, Merlin Animal Welfare and Development for SEA LIFE Orlando, for this special milestone.
About 45,000 pounds of sand have been placed inside the aquariums and more than 90,000 pounds of salt will be used to acclimate the water.
Sea Life Orlando is slated to open on May 4, along with The Orlando Eye and Madame Tussauds Orlando.