Orlando Business Journal

Published: January 7, 2011

By Anjali Fluker

Bottled Ocean Inc. CEO Greg Lund (Photo credit: OBJ, Jim Cardichi)

Warehouse space isn’t just a production area for Bottled Ocean Inc. — it’s a rehabilitation center.

But not for people. Rather, the Orlando-based custom aquarium/coral maker, maintenance and sea-life rescue firm needed to make sure its space was large enough to accommodate eight 55-60 gallon tanks for sick or injured fish to get better, plus separate coral tanks. It also has a table that’s used to pack tropical fish going out to customers or to unpack foreign fish coming in from other countries.

The firm moved to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in east Orlando six years ago after hurricanes Charley, Francis and Ivan destroyed its former space near Orlando Executive Airport. Though its current space is smaller, it’s more suited to the work it does, said President and CEO Greg Lund.

“After the hurricanes hit, we had to scramble to find a new spot,” said Lund. “The space we’re in now was just being finished at that time, but we had our pick and were able to build out the way we wanted.”

The company didn’t need to focus much on choosing colors for the warehouse space — the tropical fish provided most of that. Instead, needs included making sure there was space for hospital tanks as well as the boat the company uses to collect sick or injured fish and other small sea creatures. Once rescued, the creatures are treated and then put into separate quarantine tanks before they are delivered to ­customers.

Along with that, the company receives shipments of tropical fish for its custom residential and commercial aquatic systems from places such as the Philippines, Fiji, Hawaii, the Florida Keys and Haiti. The climate control in the warehouse has to be ideal to adjust to the high humidity indoors and outdoors, Lund said.

“Our fish are coming from all over the world,” he said. “They have long traveling cycles and are boxed and shipped for days. It’s a process that has to be handled very delicately.”

To view original article, visit: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/print-edition/2011/01/07/for-bottled-ocean-inc-its-all-fishy.html.