National Aquarium
Blacktip Shark Exhibit – Renovation
Field Formed, Fiberglass Reinforced Epoxy Liner for Concrete Tank
Completed March 2013 – Baltimore Inner Harbor
The National Aquarium emptied the existing “Wings on the Water” stingray exhibit and converted this concrete tank to the new Blacktip Shark Exhibit in 2012 – 2013. The 260,000-gallon concrete vessel’s previous liner was in disrepair and in fact, failing. Whiting-Turner, General Contractor, managed the overall renovation project. During the entire renovation, the remaining areas of the National Aquarium were open and occupied with visitors, staff, and sea life.
Pro Coat used ultra-high water-jetting to remove the existing coating, down to bare concrete. Water jetting technique is an aggressive method of coating removal and typically leaves the concrete with a rough, jagged surface.
Pro Coat applied a re-surfacing material (also referred to as a “parge coat”) provided by Fox Industries Company, now a division of Simpson Strong-Tie. Trowel applied parge coats fills and smooths over all imperfections and “bug holes” that are created and exposed during the aggressive high-pressure water jetting process. Re-surfacing provides a smooth surface that allows the epoxy coating to be applied evenly and creates a monolithic tank liner.
After the parge coat was applied and cured, the Field Formed & Reinforced System, FX70-10, was installed. FX-70-10 is a chemical-resistant, fabric-reinforced, multi-layer protective epoxy coating. Two fiberglass reinforced layers were installed by embedding fiberglass fabric into the 100 % epoxy FX70-9 coating. A topcoat of FX70-9 completed the system and complied with the National Aquarium’s color requirements of four custom colors.
Pro Coat spray applied the 100% two-component epoxy material using their WIWA Duomix Plural Component spray pump. This is a unique piece of equipment with high performance/output, which blends and heats the two components at the very moment of application.
The new Black Tip Reef exhibit is designed to replicate an Indo-Pacific reef. At more than $12 million, this is the largest renovation at the 31-year-old aquarium since the opening of the $74.6 million Australia exhibit in 2005.
