Lanes for Drains engineers prove their worth on the ocean floor

Lanes for Drains engineers have proved they have the technology to operate on the ocean floor – even when it’s on dry land.

The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth called in the leading drainage company when faced with the task of clearing four tons of dirty sand, gravel and sludge from the bottom of its Atlantic reef display tank. The 550,000 litre tank had to be cleaned out before it could be refurbished.

Lanes for Drains engineers based at the Plymouth Depot in Plympton carried out the task using their truck-mounted JHL Super Jet Vac tanker which is powerful enough to extract 20,000 litres of fluid a minute.

Despite needing a 100 metre run of hose from the tank in the heart of the aquarium complex to the tanker outside, the sand and gravel was mixed with water and sucked out in just eight hours – much to the relief of the popular tourist attraction’s staff.

Jim Farley, the aquarium’s engineering manager, said: “We were faced with having to clear out the sand by hand in buckets. It would have meant hoisting each bucket up the side of the six metre deep tank. When we’ve done it that way in the past it’s taken two solid weeks. So I thought, let’s call Lanes for Drains and see what they can do. To have the job done in such a short time very impressive. It saved us a huge amount of time, effort and money.”

Andy Aldred, Sales Manager for Lanes for Drains in Plymouth, said: “It was a rather unusual request but we showed we had the flexibility and technology to get the job done.

“Our jet vac tanker is a very powerful piece of kit and is capable of doing a range of useful jobs – even on the ocean floor! We were very pleased to be able to help the National Marine Aquarium, and save them from all that hard labour.”

The display tank has now been renamed the Eddystone Reef – the name of a reef just off Plymouth Sound. It has also been refilled with fresh sand, water and fish for the public to enjoy once again.