Impressive water treatment plant for ARTIS

For more than 45 years, the Oss branch of Hellebrekers Water & Leisuretechniek has been working for ARTIS. The technical service provider knows all the ins and outs of the animal enclosures with water in Amsterdam. Not surprisingly, the company was involved in the restoration of the ARTIS Aquarium. Marty van den Heuvel, contract manager at Hellebrekers, has been working with ARTIS on the new water treatment plant for the aquarium since 2017.

Hellebrekers is a specialist in the realization of technical installations for water treatment, climate control and electrical. The company installs and maintains water treatment plants. Mostly in swimming pools, but thus also in zoos. "Our cooperation with ARTIS began in the early 1970s when a water treatment installation for the 'polar bear pool' had to be realized," Van den Heuvel explains. "Since then we have been a loyal partner of the zoo."

Creative solutions

The aquarium - a national monument dating from 1881 - has been completely stripped technically and is being rebuilt with new installations. The building itself remains standing, which makes this project complex. "We have to build around the framework and can't just tear down a wall," Van den Heuvel explains. Hellebrekers has the know-how and knowledge to come up with creative solutions for this: "We take into account the challenges of the building and realize the water treatment installations exactly to size. Consider, for example, the construction of the piping with all the vaulting."

Everything revolves around water quality

For about two years, ARTIS worked with Hellebrekers to run a pilot with a seawater-resistant fleece filter. The outcome of the pilot was good water quality. This allowed Hellebrekers to proceed with engineering the water treatment systems. 

The water first passes through a membrane filter, after which it ends up in a sump to settle. Then it flows through to the protein skimmer. Then the water goes to a bio-filter. From this compartment, the water is pumped back up through a seawater resistant circulation pump. Here the water first passes through a plastic UV system for disinfection and a graphite heat exchanger for heating or cooling. This allows visitors to see the fish swimming in crystal clear water.

A special project

"I have been in this business for over 20 years and I have to tell you: this is a very special, but also challenging project," Van den Heuvel says. "Fortunately, these are the projects that make our work so much fun!"