Medaka in a Japanese-Style Showcase

Tochigi Nakagawa Aquatic Park is an aquarium set against the rich natural backdrop of Naka River. As a facility where visitors can learn about the local natural environment and aquatic life, it offers a variety of exhibits and interactive programs. The park particularly emphasizes the display of native Japanese freshwater fish and aquatic plants, playing a key role in conveying the beauty of nature to its visitors.

From June 1 to August 25, 2024, Nakagawa Aquatic Park is hosting an event called “Gorgeous Medaka Show.” This summer event showcases approximately 58 varieties of Japanese Rice Fish, commonly known as Medaka, including both familiar and newly developed breeds, totaling around 10,000 fish. Our Bird’s Eye Aquarium has been introduced in this event at the park’s event hall, allowing visitors to discover the diverse charms of Medaka.

Medaka are traditionally viewed from above, and our Bird’s Eye Aquarium is designed to enhance this unique display method, providing visitors with a new perspective on the various breeds. Given the event’s three-month duration, we provided the table aquarium showcase on a rental basis to meet the park’s needs.

Displaying Medaka from Above with Vibrancy

Bird’s Eye Aquarium features a distinctive top-view display, allowing visitors to clearly see the often-overlooked top view of fish. This unique perspective has helped many develop a deeper interest and appreciation for Medaka. Additionally, Bird’s Eye Aquarium maximizes the beauty of Medaka displays, earning high praise.

We invite those interested in enhancing the attractiveness of Medaka displays or other aquatic exhibits to consider installing our Bird’s Eye Aquarium. For details or inquiries, please feel free to contact us.

Brand New Interactive Fish Tanks in Uozu Aquarium

We are delighted to be appointed by Uozu Aquarium, the only aquarium with permanent marine displays in Toyama Prefecture, to design and create three interactive aquariums – Flowing Aquarium, Bird’s Eye Aquarium and Overlooking Aquarium – for family fun in the newly renovated Kids Zone on the third floor last year. The play area, which aims at engaging visitors in learning through hands-on experiences, is open to the public from March 5, 2022.

The three aquariums have unique features and different playable interactive contents for visitors.

Flowing Aquarium, powered by an electricity-generating bike, creates and changes water current for freshwater fish, allowing visitors to get a closer look at fish swimming upstream. In the middle of the fish tank, there is Kouroka Lava to mimic the nature and construct a natural environment. Visitors can enjoy viewing the fish at close proximity while sitting on the bench next to the tank.

A bar counter-type Bird’s Eye Aquarium is also set up to grow corals. Visitors can fully enjoy the glowing corals in the dark when they shine the blacklight on the tank. As it is rare to grow corals in Bird’s Eye Aquariums, visitors can take this opportunity to indulge in the amazing and vibrant atmosphere.

Last but not least, Overlooking Aquarium, which is transformed from the classic 120cm-long Bird’s Eye Aquarium YU for keeping reptiles, allows a close Bird’s Eye view from above. Visitors can sit on the provided bench and watch the animals leisurely.

The beloved animal height comparison panel visually in the Aquarium is also revamped. Visitors are welcome to take photos and compare heights with the new stuffed toys with 1:1 ratio. What’s more, ten kinds of fluffy animal head covers are placed in different areas for photo taking. (Fluffy animal head covers are not provided currently to prevent the spread of COVID-19.)

Creating Innovative Aquariums

In order to make Flowing Aquarium, it is required to produce a system to create water flow powered by bikes. We had the whole picture in mind from the very beginning, but we encountered quite a lot of difficulties during the manufacturing process. For example, we had to go through trial and error to find the perfect balance of the gear ratio of the electricity-generating bike so that both kids and adults can have fun. In order to achieve this, some primary school students were invited to try the bike to help us make final adjustments. We also thought of different ways to make sure that fish can enjoy swimming against the produced water current.

Toyama Prefecture is famous for its rapid rivers, so it is no doubt that its freshwater fish like fast-flowing water. When they feel tired, our centrally-positioned Kouroka Lava creates a cave effect, making it a perfect refuge for them.

The fish tank is well-built with an exercise bike, but overdoing might cause accidents Visitors are advised to produce the best water current for fish with caution.

This task would not have been possible without our remarkable aquarium manufacturing skills, extensive fish and water knowledge, established expertise covering electrical and mechanical engineering, and comprehensive knowledge in a wide range of fields. As it is inventive for visitors to enjoy aquariums while sitting, we are delighted that we can make it happen.

We pursue excellence by upskilling and enhancing product developments to innovate creations and services. Please feel free to contact us for inquiries if you have imaginative aquarium designs in your mind.

Walking On Clear Water and Watching Fish Swim under Feet

Opened in 1987, Sagamigawa Fureai Science Museum aims at strengthening the relationship between humans and Sagami River, as well as arising people’s awareness in protecting it. Acting as a common space for gathering, familiarizing, and learning Sagami River with fun, this aquarium was renovated in 2014, adding “Aquarium Sagamihara” in its name. It is now exhibiting about 100 species of creatures that inhabit in Sagami River.

In 2020, the Museum introduced a new plan to install Bird’s Eye Aquarium AYUMI, a new fish tank display possessing the concept of Bird’s Eye Aquarium to be embedded in the floor, so that visitors can enjoy seeing fish swiming right below. This new aquarium demonstrates the crystal clarity of Sagami River, allowing visitors to experience the pleasure of walking on water and fully enjoy fish swim under their feet.

The fish tank adopts a cylindrical design with a diameter of 3m and a water depth of 50cm. Its main body is composed of concrete blocks assembled on top of the foundation under the floor, which are formed with fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) resin for waterproofing. Taking into consideration of easy feeding and maintenance, the top glass is divided into four pieces, which can be pushed upwards through the corresponding electric actuators. What’s more, thanks to the attachment of the highly-transparent PVC removable sheet and hard-coated gloss laminate on the top glass plate for scratch prevention, visitors can enjoy carefree walk on the tank surface.

Like other Bird’s Eye Aquariums, the top glass plate of AYUMI has seamless contact with the water surface, providing an immersive experience like observing the clear river using a box-shaped hydroscope.

Breaking through with Floor-Embeded Bird’s Eye Aquarium

Based on the principle of table-type Bird’s Eye Aquarium, it was theoretically possible to produce floor-embeded type Bird’s Eye Aquarium, so it was worth taking up the challenge. It was, however, our first time to manufacture a Bird’s Eye Aquarium with a diameter of 3m. It was of the utmost importance that the horizontal accuracy had to be maintained, and the works had to be carried out meticulously and precisely.

Normally, a huge aquarium with a display surface of about 3m x 3m is expensive because of the increasing thickness of the acrylic sheet. Bird’s Eye Aquarium AYUMI, however, is floor-embedded with a shallow water depth, it can withstand great water pressure even with thin sheets. What’s more, since fish is observed from above through the top glass plate, the main body can be made of FRP instead of acrylic. The cost can be kept down as a result.

How about setting up an aquarium with evolving functionality and timeless design to create a distinctive and captivating space to increase customer satisfaction?

Building a Medusarium for Education Purpose

Paris Aquarium (“L’Aquarium de Paris” in French), also called “Cineaqua”, is a public aquarium located next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Different from ordinary aquariums, there are two cinemas inside the building, one offering documentaries of National Geographic, and the other offering cartoon movies. Cineaqua also organizes activities contributing to children education, including fish feeding, puppet show, touch and feel, etc, making it a place other than just being an aquarium.

In 2018, we have the honor to work with their team of jellyfish specialists to install 4 bar counters of Bird’s Eye Aquarium and a big kreisel tank for displaying jellyfish in their medusarium. The 4 bar counters, each of 2 meters wide and 1.2 meters high, form a donut shape with a diameter as large as 5 meters. Surrounding the pillar at the center of the exhibition hall, the kreisel tank is of 3.6 meters wide and 1.8 meters high, making it one of the main tanks in the medusarium.

Working with Jellyfish Specialists and Extending the Enjoyment to Night Time

Jellyfish is a delicate living thing, so the tanks have to be designed and made in a way that the inner surfaces are smooth and without corner. With our product team specialised in aquarium and production team specialised in acrylic, fabricating jellyfish tanks that requires processes like bending acrylic sheets and assembling parts of a complicated structure are not difficult to us. However, water flow is a critical factor keeping the jellies alive. Vertical rotation is a common way, as had in the kreisel tank. But it becomes special when it is rotating horizontally, as had in the case of Bird’s Eye Aquarium. In order to optimize the flow, we tested the tanks with moon jellies in our factory locally, fine-tuning the curved surfaces before the international delivery.

Yet, with too much current, the jellies get stuck to the overflow and torn apart. With too little current, they fall to the bottom and injure the tissue. Setting up the tanks on site with the jellyfish specialists in Cineaqua was a valuable experience for us.

Cineaqua is an aquarium of education and entertainment. In the educational events organized for the youngsters in day time, our bar counters become a table for visitors to learn more about jellies. In the entertainment events organized at set evenings and nights, where visitors can experience the magic of jellyfish with a glass of champagne, our bar counters become a performance stage for the bar tenders to serve drinks. The small cases in between the bar counters are actually the anti-condensation tanks for iced beers!

Aquarium Presenting the Beauty of Deep Sea Creatures in Summer Festival

Sagamigawa Fureai Science Museum was opened on November 15, 1987, with the aim of promoting and preserving the nature of Sagami River. It was later renovated and reopened on March 26, 2014, with the newly built Aquarium Sagamihara to strengthen the connection between people and the river, raise awareness of environmental protection, and promote the exchange of ideas. About 100 species of creatures that inhabit Sagami River are exhibited in the museum.

A special exhibition “Touch and Feel Summer Festival” was held between July 13 and September 24, 2018, in which we installed an anti-condensation tank as an exhibition aquarium. At the event, the beauty of deep sea creatures like giant isopod were shown.

No More Dew Condensation thanks to the Special Aquarium Structure

There are four distinct seasons in Japan. While it is inevitably hot and humid in summer, dew condensation in fish tanks is unavoidable. As a result, it is difficult to show the water creatures to the visitors clearly, making it a big challenge to aquariums.

We have produced this anti-condensation tank by using two layers of acrylic sheets with special gas filled in between. It helps reduce heat transfer, and dew formation can be therefore prevented. No dew is formed on the surface of the fish tank in the exhibition hall at a room temperature of around 26°C and a water temperature at 7°C. Although the effectiveness might be altered by air conditioning, our experiment has proved that there is no condensation even with cooler water. In addition, the low water temperature can be maintained for a long time owing to excellent insulation.

As this cold water fish tank is specially made to allow visitors to “touch and feel” the giant isopods, the reinforcing plate (aka. centre flange) which is normally placed in the centre is removed. The strength is reinforced by the thickness of the acrylic sheets and the bonding method instead. As a result, the strength remains the same, and the fish tank is perfect for observation, as well as touch and feel, since there is no obstacle like flange in between. This fish tank can be made into any shapes according to customer requirements and the types of creatures.

The development of anti-condensation tank has made a significant contribution to the exhibition of cold water and deep sea creatures such as giant isopod and lumpfish. Are you also interested in growing different cold water creatures in this type of fish tank with a dew-free viewing window?

Special Creatures, Special Way to Display

There is an aquarium called “Nixe Castle”, which exhibits about 400 species / 20,000 creatures in “Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe”, which is a theme park featuring “Nordic Romance and Ocean Fantasy”. From April 26 to September 30, 2012, we set up six Bird’s Eye Aquariums in a dim hall for the event called “Exhibition of Strange Creatures”. Currently, the table aquariums are playing an important role in “Corner of Mysterious Creatures in the Ocean”, exhibiting various scenes of the ocean world while visitors can view from the top closely.

The six Bird’s Eye Aquariums were having similar structure of IZUMI, but in order to increase its water volume, we made them bigger and taller tank compared to our core model with diameter of 70cm. The height of 100cm seemed to be best-fit for the visitors to view from above. Each creature was made to inhabit each table aquarium, which forms one of the exhibition corners in the aquarium.

How about viewing from above?

It was obvious that giant tanks would attract more attention in an aquarium, but in the case of Birds Eye Aquarium, thanks to its all-in-one structure equipped with LED lighting, it became the spotlight in a dim room when it was put in the center of the exhibition hall, surprising the visitors. In addition, it allows visitors to look at the creatures closely, providing new enjoyment of the exhibit from a brand new angle.

Having high filtering power, Bird’s Eye Aquarium is a companion of aquarium. How about installing a size-customized or even shape-customized table aquarium, bar-counter aquarium or floor-embedded aquarium and show the creatures from the top?