Building the larges LEGO aquarium in the world

[Angeli]

I like building big with LEGO bricks :) What is actually "Big" is subjective, but for me, if it doesn't fit the house - it is big :) Check out 5m Millennium Falcon (link) or world's largest Notre Dame (link), Sword Coast (link), Suldanessellar (link) and similar (Eurobricks is the only place I post my mocs directly, so you can find a lot here :)

I would like to present my latest build, Coral Reef, and speak a little bit about the future, and building 7x5m large Coral Reef from LEGO bricks
I would also like to make this post highly educational, so you will be threated to some facts about Coral Reefs in blue color, and also some facts inside normal text

(link)

I love building aquariums from LEGO bricks (they are without water, of course:) and I have special love in my hearth for Coral Reefs.

• Did you know that 25% of all marine species live on coral reefs? And yet Coral Reefs are less than 1% of living surface of the sea

I was inspired by Siercon& Coral's build, and many that followed - building world that is alive, changing on every step, with animals that are diverse and literary different under every rock, in every cave - it was something that brought me a lot of joy. Being scuba diver for decades (I started diving when I Was 18, I am 43 now), especially loving extreme diving (night diving, ice diving, night ice diving :) and being in love with the sea, above and under surface, building underwater dioramas were source of lot of enjoyment for me.
t (link) Siercon& Coral's - moc
 

On a side note, I love coral reefs, and there is a good chance my 2 year old kid will not see them, as they could cease to exist by the time he is able to dive. Global warming, acidity of the sea, rise of CO2, pollution and other factors are ecology issues we should seriously think about, not just for us, but for our kids also. I am hoping this project will be another drop in the sea of activity which will raise awareness about the world we are about the loose, both the beauty of it, and its importance for our survival.

• Did you know that corals clean the water by feeding? Water is always amazingly clear near coral reefs

First I made 1x2 (48x48) aquarium, where I used every single notable themed bricks (basic, technics, duplo, Galidor, clikits and similar). This will be part of the large 7x5 Coral Reef I am preparing, and it was my first test run. Galidor heads make for such a great Moray Eel - for me, one of the most dangerous creatures I have encountered, and I have dived with 2.5m sharks in open water, and one of them brushed on me, caught on tape. Why? Moray Eel in not poisonous per se, but she is a vulture, and her mouth if full of bad bacteria. Also, when she bites, she roles like a corkscrew - making wound so hard to heal. I once came into face to face with one who had a head big as a horse - and she was not alone.
Notice clikits parts on flowers (yellow technics stem)
(link)

• Did you know that not buying souvenirs made from corals can actually help preserve them. Other great way to contribute is not stepping on them or breaking them - they are amazing to take picture of, and not touching them helps preserving them. "Take nothing except pictures, and leave nothing but love and bubbles" :)

Then I made 2x4 (48x48) Coral Reef, to date, my favorite creation. In there, I incorporated hundreds of animals, some original, some made from bricks. My idea was to introduce so many life in it, that you could spend hours going around display, always seeing something new - just like in the real Coral Reef. There are so many crabs and other arthropods, snails and other creatures crawling on the sand and rock, and hundreds upon hundreds of fish. If LEGO made a fish as an animal, you can see it in there
(link)

But my favorite part is vegetation's on the sea floor, and coral strains. So much life, and so many ways to use uncongenial bricks to show that :)

I also incorporated a lot of trans neon green and trans neon orange parts, but more on that later. I use blue light (black light makes neon bricks to shine stronger, but dims all other colors, blue light allows them to be seen, while neon still is intensified. Check out the pictures, and let us talk about the parts I used:



I used a lot of modern ghost lower part of bodies (legs) to make complex shapes, adding flower stems in strange colors to mimic coral polyp tentacles - same thing is amazingly achieved with the crown introduced in Angry Birds sets.


All types of fire brick in all possible colors are my main source of seaweed. Also, building seaweed from mostly transparent (light blue) bricks and adding just one solid part made them look aerie in blue light, almost like alive


Clickits flowers make amazing anemones, when combined with solid color minifig heads :)

I used hundreds of "Mission on Mars" rigged tubes, but more on them later. Good thing about them is that they randomly bend, so with them the build gets more natural look

I loved using technics masks and body parts for mimicking huge crustaceans



Clickits hand bands when grouped together make amazing corals - I think I had bought everything you could find on the bricklink, as no one was using them in such amounts, except Bart de Dobbelaer. They are amazing, and one can never have too many of them - goes for any clikits part, actually :) I know a (pretty amazing) guy who has a (pretty amazing) wife who has 70 kg of clikits :) That is happiness right there :)


Another amazing AFOL, Eilonwy77 (Katie) developed lovely technique for bending creations made from 1x2 plates and bunch of 1x1 round plates - this allows for larger, more robust anemones. Spikey Galidor legs also make the same thing, when arranged in circle


The little blue brush from the truck that cleans the streets is a must, and when combined with round plates changing the height, they make lovely sea floor

I was very careful to present life in caves different from life outside the caves, so you can feel the difference when watching it, making it more realistic. Many of plants and animals can be found only in caves, some only hanging upside down :)


1x1 brick modified with four studs, one on each side is great tool for this type of build


Manta Ray is probably the largest aquatic animal I have seen in person - she was so big, I thought the grass was moving, when I was suiting up for the dive, and she was skulking beneath. They have intelligence of the cat, and are extremely curious - This big one came to me, exploring, and I was able to do some macro pictures of her eye - I don't think I have ever seen something so complex and alien, but also mesmerizing and beautiful  - the most beautiful thing I have seen during a night dive was a cuttlefish, she was floating like UFO, with her lateral fins moving in waves, and colors changing - it was surreal

Coral Reef is full of eggs - some are in the grass, some are beneath a rock and some are on the ceiling of a cave - we don't always know what made them, but my moc is full of them

I was lucky to find a seller with hundreds of seashell headgear from Pirates of the Caribbean,  they were extremely cheap and affordable and I took them all. I use wanted list and notify system a lot when bricklink is in question, and if certain factors come up (part, price, quantity, location) I get notify same second, and I tend to react fast. Good use of notify and wanted lists are core of strange and unusual parts usage, when large quantities are in question. Some fish, like duplo and basic yellow fish from little mermaid  (named Flounder, although he is not really a flounder, but yellow-blue tropical fish :), they have silly large human eyes - so I turn them with their back to the viewer, and usually facing a wall of dense vegetation, so they can't be seen from other side


And when the blue light gets switched on, magic begins - look at the pictures:

• Did you know that almost all corals need warmth and sunlight to grow? Although, almost all, there are those living in 4°C and 2km undersurface, relying only on food they gather, with no photosynthesis.

Now I am building 4x8 (48x48) Coral Reef

I am using thousands of trans neon green antenna, pearl gold wheels from Disney princess, and alien brain headgear from ufo attacks, mimicking sponges. I am also incorporating thousands of coral fish from sea exploration Friends themes, and note that coral color is behaving same like trans neon colors under the blue light.

I use technics to provide me with stability and shapes and leaves to provide me with holes for tentacles

Note that this is just a test run - I have to tear everything down to add sand and rocks

The green things you see are just temporary holders for the upper level, meaning everything you see is within a cave :)

Notice handful of Demogorgon heads from Stranger Things :) They fit so nicely in underwater diorama :)

• Did you know that there are 240.470 species in the sea, in the World Register of Marine species, but that is only small part of actually marine species that we have not discovered yet, and new species are added on daily basis?

And here is my plan: During November 2021 - April 2022 I am going to build the world's largest LEGO made aquarium - 7x5m in size. At the moment, if I am not mistaken, the world record is held by Warren Elsmore and his creation

7x5m will be the complex in which the visitor will be able to enter: it will be closed from 3 sides, with pvc screens printed with real coral reefs photos from both sides and inside, all through the walls will be one long line of baseplates with creations on a continuous table. From the table to the ground there will be printed pvc screens also. In the middle there will be 8x4 (48x48) table with creation in glass display, again, from table to ground will be printed pvc screens. On the ceiling (the whole construction is like a tent with flat roof) there will be 1:1 scale of various fish hanging, with octopus tentacles in one corner, giant turtle in the other, and similar, suspended to the roof construction.

Lights: there will be several types of lights:
- normal white led lamps, that will be light for maintenance and setup
- Blue LED strips in the corner of glass displays (that will have all sides transparent). The LED strips will shine away from visitor, so taking pictures will be possible, and no lights will go into eyes. Blue LED will also make all the trans neon green and trans orange green (and coral red) colors shine and glow
- LED diodes inside creation - I love using Mars tubes in my creations, I have couple of hundred of them (there is an anecdote when I received several hundred of them in a box from Bricklink seller from USA, he put them in a TV box and send it with regular papers with true value (which were similar to that TV set :) Customs officials opened the box, saw bunch of plastic ribbed pipes in it - and decided that I was subject of a fraud, and didn't charge anything - and VAT here is 20% and customs tax 10% :) It was a pleasant surprise :) Anyway, I will put one LED lamp in each of them -  imagine the effect in dark :). There are many other parts, that are opaque or semi opaque, that will benefit from LED lights inside or around them. I desire to make it magical - like the real sea floor is at night

• Did you know that sea is more alive during the night then during the day? More creatures are active then.

- Caustic imitators - there are lights for clubs that imitate caustic (caustic is reflection of sun rays on the bottom of the ocean). They are from 100 to couple of thousands of EUR, but for such a small space (7x5m) the smallest one will do. This will give illusion that we are under the surface. The reflector will be mounted on the celling construction. The ceiling will be metal construction with pvc screen, only in pitch black color inside and white on the outside (in case we exhibit outside)
- There will be extra light from a large screen, where marine life will be displayed, and a msg from someone with a nice voice, narrating about ecology, marine life and beauty of the sea.

• Did you know that Corals are actually animals, not plants. Coral reefs are the largest biologically originated structures on Earth.

Water - I desire to implement water, but water has several issues:
- it makes residue (hard water, the one we usually use in taps or drink)
- In the case of breakdown and spillage it makes a mess
- closed systems are heavy for transport, and open systems that one can refill are not as secure

The solution of residue is using demineralized water, it is available everywhere and can be bought in almost every supermarket.

Solution to possible spillage mess is bolting the container to the table, and also suspending it to the ceiling of display

Solution for transport is open system and being extra careful while setting it up.

And here is the idea - I desire bubbles. So I will make one-piece beaker that will be closed on all sides except on two holes: one for tube that will pump air, and second for that air to get out. This will reduce the dust and particles gathering in it. The beaker will be bolted to the table with removable bolts, so it can be dismantled, but it will be (I hope:) impossible to tip them and spill them. They will be 1m tall and as small of radius as possible, 10cm is just right. The pump will be suspended on the ceiling of the display (In case there is power shortage, if it was under the level of table water would spill, solution for that is special pump that has protection, but it is more expensive, and it can malfunction and water mixed with dust that always find way into display would be VERY hard to remove, especially after some time). Tube will go from the pump into the beaker to the bottom, where air will leave it and float back to the surface - just like in the real aquarium.

In case I desire to put more of this crafts in diorama, I will use stronger pump or silent compressor.
 

• Did you know that we have explored less than 5% of the ocean? Mid Ocean Ridge is under the water, 65.000 long, and it is less explored then surface of the Mars.

Animals:
- in last few years I have been gathering marine life animals, whenever I get a chance or have extra funds - 10 stingrays here, 20 sharks there, 10.000 plain fish here (opportunity arrived:) And although I have been using that plain fish for other projects, plenty are left for Coral Reef
- brick built animals are my favorite. Especially snails, using large Power Miners drills from snail houses
- Coral red - this is the color that has same glow when subjected to black light or blue light as trans neon colors. And there is variety of sea animals that are being produced (Friends theme started it). These two boxes hold several thousand of coral colored animals, a gift from friend, someone who loves diving as much as I do, and loves idea of raising awareness regarding importance of Coral Reefs

• Did you know that shark teeth are not actual teeth, bus scales, and that is why they grow back when lost?
• Did you know that sharks kill 20 people per year, and people kill almost 12.000 sharks per hour? Who is the monster here?

• Did you know what is the most cruel fate in the sea? Being hunted by Harlequin shrimp, and being a sea star - Although shrimp can be 100 times smaller, they will turn the star so the starfish can't run away, and slowly eat it - and feed it at the same time, so the star stays alive longer. Truly nightmarish fate, right? Especially as starfish can regenerate. On the other hand, some star fish species are known to attack and destroy coral reefs, so there is some balance in the universe :)
  
  There is so much I would like to tell you about this, but post is as long as it is already. I will be glad to answer all question in thread, and any ideas that you have how to make it more beautiful, it will be wonderful to brainstorm about it

 

[Johnny1360]

Talk about Wow factor, these builds are absolutely gorgeous and I can tell also you are very passionate about them. I would not even know where to start, with all the great stuff you have done here. I also hope you continue showing off future reefs. Just fantastic, very minor gripe, some stuff just seems to ordered, not random enough, although that is a real stretch to find fault. Keep up the great work.

[Angeli]

On 7/18/2021 at 5:01 AM, Johnny1360 said:

Talk about Wow factor, these builds are absolutely gorgeous and I can tell also you are very passionate about them. I would not even know where to start, with all the great stuff you have done here. I also hope you continue showing off future reefs. Just fantastic, very minor gripe, some stuff just seems to ordered, not random enough, although that is a real stretch to find fault. Keep up the great work.

thank you very much :)
This is my favorite build, yet it doesn't attract any attention :) Yet I believe it is the most beautiful thing I have ever built :)

[Darkdragon]

There are a lot of nice small builds inside this build. A lot of wonderful parts usage and types of sea plants are created here which is amazing.

I think if you are worried it isn't getting as much attention as you'd like, one thing I would say comparing yours and one that you posted in your writeup by Sircon & Coral - they have negative space and places for the eye rest.  You're has so many details that it causes folks to have a hard time focusing on any one thing and there's nowhere to just take it in, it's very busy.  If you took (for example) this same amount of detail and spread it over twice as much area, with gaps and spaces of empty "sand" you might get more response.  Amy, designer from The LEGO Group has mentioned this exact things  a few times.

Keep up the good work, going big is a lot of fun.

[Johnny1360]

Yes it is like fine music, the spaces in between the notes is what makes it great, rather than just a wall of noise. Valid point, Darkdragon.

Just some absolutely great techniques, part usage and colors, would love to actually be able to study it in person. I can't see any pictures doing it proper justice.

Edit: Oh yeah forgot to mention, I really enjoyed the little factoids as well, just can't say enough how great this project is turning out. Extremely ambitious, is a thought that comes to mind as well.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Johnny1360

[Angeli]

On 7/19/2021 at 4:07 PM, Darkdragon said:

There are a lot of nice small builds inside this build. A lot of wonderful parts usage and types of sea plants are created here which is amazing.

I think if you are worried it isn't getting as much attention as you'd like, one thing I would say comparing yours and one that you posted in your writeup by Sircon & Coral - they have negative space and places for the eye rest.  You're has so many details that it causes folks to have a hard time focusing on any one thing and there's nowhere to just take it in, it's very busy.  If you took (for example) this same amount of detail and spread it over twice as much area, with gaps and spaces of empty "sand" you might get more response.  Amy, designer from The LEGO Group has mentioned this exact things  a few times.

Keep up the good work, going big is a lot of fun.

wow, those are some great suggestions, and I often get that both bussiness and lack of good photography chip away from the enthusiasm of viewrs online, although feedback live is amazing
I was purposly going for the bussy ambient as the life under the sea is like that, especially in clean waters where there is not lot of human trafic. And that is the issue, in person (live), I have watched people spend 20 min in front of the display, just searching trough every cravise, trying to spot every animal that is hidden (some are repetative trough whole display, but some are unique and there is only one of them, or they are rare). It is hard to transfer that "feel" trough picture, especially with larger builds. And even so bussy, there are areas that feel plain and empty (when watchin it live)

So there is always a choice, do I build it for show, or for internet (pictures)

I have seen this choice mase over and over with the best of builders, when their builds look amazing in picture, but just ok on show (usually technics robots, mecha and some of the most amazing npu builders) because with photography,m you can choose an angle and light, in real life, you just approach the build as visitor and builder has no controle on what you are focusing on, where you stand when watching etc

Additionaly, most of them are flimsy and if touched, parts will fall off, so they are not suited for transport and setup on events, especially if builder is not present, while things that are made for exhibit are usually modular for easy transport, and some beauty is sacrificed for mobility and sturdiness

Coral Reef is built for live events, but I still hoped pictures will bring at least some of the beauty of the build, enough to make a wow effect

I will try another approach in October, I will hire a proffessional photographer and try to make some really good photos (I made all of these with my phone). Hopefully this will show moc in another light

But other than that, your observation is spot on, thank you

On 7/19/2021 at 8:57 PM, Johnny1360 said:

Yes it is like fine music, the spaces in between the notes is what makes it great, rather than just a wall of noise. Valid point, Darkdragon.

Just some absolutely great techniques, part usage and colors, would love to actually be able to study it in person. I can't see any pictures doing it proper justice.

Edit: Oh yeah forgot to mention, I really enjoyed the little factoids as well, just can't say enough how great this project is turning out. Extremely ambitious, is a thought that comes to mind as well.

thank you very much for kind words :)
Where do you live, what country (city)? I am planning to send Coral Reef on a tour, and maybe your town is on the list of those I will visit with it

Actually, where I will go deneds a lot of where I have great AFOL friends :) This is how I usually plan those kind of roadtrips :D And mostly Europe :)

[Shiva]

Wow..

[Pinnacle]

Really amazing. 

How do you clean your creations from dust en cobwebs?

I like big building too, and I know how much dust and cobwebs this kind of buildings collect

[Vindicare]

Looks cool! Quite the departure from the red castles I know you for. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Vindicare

[Angeli]

 

On 10/5/2021 at 4:18 PM, bobfily said:

It looks amazing! And also, I am very glad that you touched upon the topic of ecology and water quality. This is really very important now for all of humanity, click here for info to make sure of this. In addition, now from everywhere, we hear the terrible news about man-made and natural disasters. It would be nice if more people thought about the future and tried to save it.

the perspective changes once you have children :)
I got a boy 2 years ago, and my focus shifted from "I want to have amazing time here" to "I want him to have amazing time here" and that also presumes clean enviroment as a prerequisite

Speaking with kids on events on this subject is amazing on events (or at least was, before pandemic). Most of them are aware of the concept of ecology (most, if not all), and are more then ready to give their own , meaning throw trash in garbage, recycle and similar - one can;t ask more from kids

But discussion with adults is oposite, adults are mostly suprised with the bad state of our climate, they have no clue (they heards something somewhere, but they didn;t think it was "that bad"), they never recycle, and they have "this is just one small plastic bottle, it won't be a difference if I throw it in the park" attitude.

The only way we can make an impact is if we all make some contribution, even a minimal one. Me, for example, do not drive a car. Imagine that, I never drive a car. If 10% of population in Western cities who drive did this - what kind of impact would it have? Well, 10% less CO2 and other bad materials cars emit. Btw not using a car impacts the amount of profits I make, but having less profit for cleaner future is acceptable (check my next paragraph)

This was my main point of disagreement with The LEGO Company, as I wished they focused at least as much on ecological issues as they do on social issues (an ecology focused set would be amazing, nature is awesome and can be great inspiration - but really focused on ecology, not something with a tree), as they tak and talk, but shelves are full of sets where bricks are packed in disposable plastic bags. I buy a lot of LEGO, and every week, amount of plastic bags I throw away is suprising, to say the least. The solution would be to recall all sets untill other way of packaging is developed, but that would hurt profits, and profits are more important then the future of our kids - and that is, by definition, evil, someone who puts money in front of wel being of a child. The LEGO Company is working on a way to remedy this, and that is commendable and a step in right direction

On 8/3/2021 at 12:21 AM, Vindicare said:

Looks cool! Quite the departure from the red castles I know you for. 

I shifted to gray and white in last couple of years, take a look:

On 8/1/2021 at 2:32 PM, Pinnacle said:

Really amazing. 

How do you clean your creations from dust en cobwebs?

I like big building too, and I know how much dust and cobwebs this kind of buildings collect

thank you for kind words :)
I used to tell that the worst enemy of an AFOL is dust :)

First, I never keep creations exhibited other then on events
Second, on events, most of them are in displays, where they are protected from dust (and sticky fingers of adults and small fingers of kids who would like to touch, which would be fine, but mocs tend to break)

But sometimes mocs are so big they don't fit inside displays. If they are flat, like mosaics, I use vacuum cleaner that has some kind of barier (female nylon sock does just fine). If I don;t have access to it (I usually do not), and creation was exhibited in a place where I don;t have displays, I use very strong hair dryer that is set on cold. I can go trough several baseplates in few swoops like that. It is interesting, almost nothing gets blown (when I build diorama, I build for transport, so there are no flimsy connections, and if there are, for beauty, I put them aside before blowing (like very tall trees and similar). Most dust goes on horisontal surfaces, meaning most is on the "ground" of diorama anyway

Special note: I used to blow using just my mouth and lungs, but after tearing down 2000 m2 of event that was 3 months without display, I got really sick for a week, and I decided I needed an upgrade

Sometimes the dust is there for so long it becomes sticky, or like you mentioned, there are spiderwebs involved and blowing air is not enough/ I use brushes then. First hair dryer thenbrush. I have several, from large, for wide surfaces, to very thin, to small places that bother me :)

PAcking to protect from dust is something that is a must, but pack in boxes that open verticaly, check my post about custom made boxes (link)

[Angeli]

I have an update :)

I will make a larger post with lots of pictures sometimes, but for now, take a look at future 7x5 Coral Reel (link to Instagram and more pictures, also link to largest version)