# Berlin's giant AquaDom aquarium explodes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 16, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640 "2022-12-16T12:48:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/21 "2022-12-17T17:25:20Z")
Farewell to the AquaDom: “So long and thanks for all the fish”
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/22 "2022-12-17T18:19:13Z")
[An update.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64010677)
> Berlin police say they are not seeking suspects following the explosion of the “AquaDom” aquarium on Friday, warning the public about what they say is a fake tweet suggesting they are.
> A police source told local media on Friday there was no evidence the blast in the 15.85m high (52 ft) aquarium was the result of a targeted attack.
> An investigation into the exact cause of the explosion is ongoing but there has been speculation that the freezing temperatures - which dropped as low as -6C overnight on Friday - may have caused a crack in the tank.
Still don’t know why it’s -6C inside.
> While the majority of the 1,500 fish kept in the aquarium were killed in the explosion, some managed to survive and have been taken elsewhere.
> Hundreds more fish that were kept in the basement for breeding purposes were also at risk from the power cut that followed the incident but they have also now been moved to safety.
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### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/23 "2022-12-17T18:54:14Z")
So… what’s the special in the hotel restaurant today?
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/24 "2022-12-17T18:58:04Z")
Frozen shark.
Alternatively, tutti frutti di mare.
Or they put the whole debris into a big pot and made bouillabaisse.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/25 "2022-12-17T20:09:26Z")
> [@Napier](#):
>
> The reference I found described the construction as “acrylic glass”, an assembly of preformed panels. I’m pretty confused as to what it actually was.
“Acrylic glass” is acrylic, just formed into transparent sheets like glass. Common trade names are Plexiglass and Lexan. It’s also useful if you need to make an enclosure to carry whales in a starship hold.
Though, honestly, I would have expected that polycarbonate would be more likely, especially because acrylic tends to get scratched up. Maybe there’s some other benefit to acrylic, or maybe the author of the article just knew “clear plastic” and made assumptions.
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### Author:  [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/26 "2022-12-17T21:34:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> It’s also useful if you need to make an enclosure to carry whales in a starship hold.
That’s transparent aluminum, much stronger stuff.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/27 "2022-12-17T22:16:21Z")
They bought plexiglass. They paid for it with the formula for transparent aluminum.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/28 "2022-12-18T13:01:52Z")
I’ll be watching here for informed speculation about the cause:
> **[Largest cylindrical aquarium in the world Aquadom in Berlin Radisson hotel...](https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=500829)**
>
> https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/massive-aquarium-bursts-berlin-leisure-complex-emergency-services-2022-12-16/?utm\_source=Sailthru&utm\_medium=newsletter&utm
It’s still speculation or theory, but it’s high quality speculation. 🙂
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/29 "2022-12-18T13:17:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> They bought plexiglass. They paid for it with the formula for transparent aluminum.
🏌️♂️👏
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/30 "2022-12-18T13:23:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> They bought plexiglass. They paid for it with the formula for transparent aluminum.
The secret formula of two parts aluminium, three parts oxygen?
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/31 "2022-12-18T15:08:01Z")
I’m surprised more people weren’t hurt. Even if it was off hours. That’s a LOT of water.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/32 "2022-12-18T15:42:13Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> Had a shower door just shatter for no apparent reason.
A coworker had a large glass table in her kitchen. The weather was warming up, so she opened an outside door (that was within a few feet of the table) to air out the house. A few hours later she went back to the kitchen, and noticed the glass table was completely shattered.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/33 "2022-12-18T15:53:29Z")
Maybe this is an issue of translation from original reports in German, but I’m mildly bemused by the use of words like “explosion” and especially “blast,” since they generally, if not exclusively, refer to detonation with some slow- or fast-burning material like black powder or [RDX](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX) (the explosive part of C4 plastic explosive).
There’s no suggestion that this was that kind of explosion, right?
I get that the violence and destructiveness of the event makes words like “collapse” or “failure” seem inadequate, but the connotations of “explosion” and “blast” seem wrong to me in the opposite direction. I was an editor for 24 years, and I wouldn’t have passed those words in this situation without some further clarification.
So this was an catastrophic but accidental failure of the materials in the aquarium. Correct?
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### Author:  [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/34 "2022-12-18T16:16:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> “Acrylic glass” is acrylic, just formed into transparent sheets like glass. Common trade names are Plexiglass and Lexan.
> […]
> Though, honestly, I would have expected that polycarbonate would be more likely […]
I understood “acrylic” in “acrylic glass” meant that polymethylmethacralate was involved, though wasn’t sure whether glass might also be involved, perhaps in some kind of polymer plus glass laminate (like car windshields). And I know “Plexiglas” is a trademark for polymethylmethacralate sheets.
“Lexan”, though, is a trademark for polycarbonate, not for polymethylmethacralate.
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/35 "2022-12-18T16:45:15Z")
From the manufacturer :
> **[AquaDom Aquarium In Berlin | Reynolds Polymer](https://www.reynoldspolymer.com/projects/aquadom/)**
>
> View the AquaDom Aquarium in Berlin engineered by Reynolds Polymer. This groundbreaking aquarium is the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world.
> The aquarium required 41 of our Higly Engineered Acrylic panels – 26 panels for the outside cylinder and 15 panels for the inside – and 16 on-site bonds in order to create the 36 foot (11.08m) diameter aquarium.
I suspect the exact formula is a secret.
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### Author:  [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/36 "2022-12-18T16:54:48Z")
> [@commasense](#):
>
> There’s no suggestion that this was that kind of explosion, right?
This [article](https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2022/12/berlin-karl-liebknecht-strasse-aquarium-feuerwehr-polizei-einsatz.html) uses the word “geplatzt” which translates to “burst”, such as a balloon would.
While I would agree that “blast” is not an appropriate translation, “explosion” is not limited to black powder or other explosives, and seems to be a good description of actually happened.
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/37 "2022-12-18T17:48:30Z")
No security cameras, or webcams for fish lovers? It must be the largest camera free zone in Berlin.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/38 "2022-12-18T18:04:24Z")
> [@Napier](#):
>
> “Lexan”, though, is a trademark for polycarbonate, not for polymethylmethacralate.
I came in to post this. A very different material. Polycarbonate is tougher stuff. It’s used for eyeglasses, and it’ll stop a bullet. I know – we used to fire bullets at polycarbonate safety glasses in one place I worked to guarantee that they’d stop them.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/39 "2022-12-18T18:10:28Z")
Presumably not while wearing them.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berlins-giant-aquadom-aquarium-explodes/976640/40 "2022-12-18T18:15:10Z")
I’m envisioning two guys with guns, both wearing polycarbonate glasses, trying to shoot each other’s eyes out.
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