Aquarium that burst in Berlin was built by company based in Grand Junction

Aquarium that burst in Berlin was built by company based in Grand Junction

Last week, a huge saltwater aquarium burst open, spilling almost 265,000 gallons of water and 1,500 fish onto the floor of a business and leisure complex in a busy district of Germany's capital. The aquarium in Berlin was built by a company based in Grand Junction. 

16 December 2022, Berlin: Debris lies in front of the entrance to Sea Life at the Radisson Hotel. In the morning, the aquarium in the hotel lobby had broken apart.  Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images

Reynolds Polymer Technology is sending a team to Germany to investigate what went wrong. Reynolds Polymer Technology build the cylinder component of the Aqua-Dom tank in 2002. 

Two people were injured by shards of glass and the explosive force of the aquarium's failure sent parts of the building's facade flying onto the street outside.  The police said there was no indication of sabotage or any attack on the aquarium.

The "Aqua-Dom" saltwater aquarium is seen in the lobby of a business and leisure complex in Berlin, Germany, in a file image taken from video shot in 2003.  Reuters

The Aqua-Dom was a 265,000-gallon tank holding around 1,500 fish. The large aquarium has long been a tourist attraction in Berlin, billed by the operators as the "largest cylindrical free-standing aquarium in the world."

The tank itself was 52 feet high and almost 38 feet in diameter, made of acrylic glass. Visitors could ride an elevator right up through the middle of the aquarium.

In a statement, the company said that it was too early to determine the factor or factors behind the failure. 

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