CASE HISTORY:

• 16-year-old Sea Lion tank at the Oklahoma City Zoo had many unusual problems such as spalled concrete, rusted rebar, failed epoxy coating and 6 inch thick windows that had to be sealed.
• Ernie Wilson, head of the grounds maintenance for the zoo chose a polyurea system after seeing an advertisement at an Aquarium and Zoo Facilities, Association conference.
• The pools had previously been coated only a few years prior with an epoxy system that failed.
• Lacking the flexible required, the epoxy coating failed due to the Sea Lion pools shifting up and down.
• Along with the UV fading, the cracks in the epoxy coating had let in salt water, which damaged the concrete rebar and caused the concrete to split in several places.

 SOLUTION:

• Wilson decided that the job needed the close supervision of a local supplier, so he contacted Elastomer Specialties, Inc. in nearby Tulsa. The specifications for the installation of the AquaKote System was written by Tripp Ishmael and submitted to Mr. Wilson for approval.
• The only bidder for the project who fit the bill, according to Ernie, was Tim Sanderson of Evans Industrial Coatings located in Russellville, Arkansas.
• Work began with the 1,800 square foot indoor sick bay tank in September 2003 and five months later both the 72,000 gallon indoor winter pool and 200,000 gallon outdoor show pool were completely renovated using the AquaKote System.
• During the surface preparation and installation procedure a wooden structure with 6-mil plastic and dust-collection system was used to protect all the surrounding areas against dust, debris and chemical over spray.
• The crews wore Tyvek suits, laytex gloves and Protec fresh-air respirators for complete protection during the preparation and product application procedure.
• Rebar exposure to salt water caused the steel to expand 7 times its size causing sever concrete fractures. Once exposed the rebar had to be cleaned using needle guns to remove corrosion. After completion ChemRex-Masterbuilder Emaco R-350 was used to repair the concrete.
• Sandblasting the sea lion pool was required to effectively remove the old failed coating systems before application of the AquaKote System.

 MATERIAL:

• Products specified:
  

  1. Primer - PoxyPrime EPS was actually substituted for AnvilDeck prior to the installation. The primer is a 3:1 ratio 100% solids epoxy with rapid curing characteristics and the ability to cure on damp surfaces.
  2. Base Coat - ElastoGard ARC is a 1:1 ratio, 100% solids, pure aromatic polyurea spray coating system developed for use on concrete surfaces. The product has a gel time of 20 seconds and is tack free in 45 seconds.
  3. Top Coat - PolySpar HP is a 1:1 ratio, aliphatic polyaspartic coating system that is color stable and able to withstand constant emersion in salt water without fading.

 INSTALLATION:

• Prior to installation of the AquaKote system the entire surface area of the pools were thoroughly sand blasted, all cracked concrete repaired using the specified cementuous repair mateials and rebar was also cleaned using needle guns.
• Dust containment equipment, staging, and debris removal was outlined prior to product installation.
• The perimeters of each pool were draped with 6-mil plastic to insure no debris or over spray would contaminate surrounding areas or present a hazard to the aquatic mammals in adjacent tanks.
• After pool preparation was complete PoxyPrime EPS was mixed and installed using an airless sprayer at the specified coverage rate.
• The base coat, ElastoGard ARC, aromatic high-pressure spray polyurea was installed using a GlasCraft MX-II. The material was applied at approximately 60 mils.
• The topcoat, PolySpar HP was also installed using an airless sprayed after premixing. Specified coverage rate of the PolySpar HP, in a two coat application was approximately 5 mils per coat.
• Wilson was delighted with the work as it only took Tim Sanderson’s crew 4-5 days per pool to complete the project. The sea lions were only displaced from their home for about two weeks. According to Ernie, other more conventional systems would have taken much longer to install and time was a serious concern as he wanted the seal lions back in their habitat as soon as possible.
• The entire project was completed in early 2004.