Double-arched aquariums, each containing nearly 61,000 liters of water, sit at the store's two entrances.
Shoppers at the Scheels Sporting Goods in the city of Sparks, just outside of Reno, Nevada, are met at the store's entrance by something a bit out of the ordinary: a 61,000-liter aquarium. In fact, there are two of them – one at each entrance – featuring two different underwater environments.
Working closely with architect R.L. Engbretson PC and construction teams from Sampson Construction Company, Inc., ICM built each freestanding aquarium to fit precisely in the entrance – and be structurally sound. The result is a double-arched aquarium supported by three massive pillars, all designed, fabricated, and installed within a six-month time frame.
At 63.5 millimeters thick, the acrylic in the aquarium is 17 times stronger than glass and four times stronger than concrete. All columns and archways are filled with water, rockwork, and other habitat necessities, allowing for nearly unimpeded viewing of the marine life within the tank. Each column supporting the archway features a DuPlex steel column 4 meters tall and 254 millimeters in diameter to hold the top archway structure in place and help prevent catastrophic failure in the event of an earthquake in Sparks' seismic zone five location.
While both aquariums feature the same structural elements, each habitat is decidedly different: the saltwater aquarium features tropical reef fish such as clown fish, trigger fish, and porcupine puffers, as well as a bamboo shark. The freshwater aquarium features fish native to Nevada – perch, sturgeon and freshwater bass. All told, there are roughly 1,600 fish living in the aquariums.
To care for the marine life and the tanks, the tanks are accessed via a catwalk on top of the arches, while water filtration takes place in a separate room. Nearly 284,000 liters of water are filtered through each tank every hour to keep it fresh, with little effort on part of the store staff. That's a lot of water, a lot of fish – and a lot of fun for the shoppers at Scheels.
