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| This huge model of the Titanic was floated in the water tank. Photo - Merie W. Wallace |
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| This huge model of the Titanic was floated in the water tank. Photo - Merie W. Wallace |
The movie Titanic was a spectacular production with state-of-the-art special effects which included an eight-acre tank containing (US) 17 million gallons of water.
Big Tank
The tank was part of a 40-acre ocean-front studio in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Hydro-Clear® pulsed bed sand filters supplied by USFilter's Zimpro kept the water clean for the film. Raw water was drawn from the Pacific Ocean into an equalization basin where it was mixed with chemical flocculants. The flow was then directed to the filters where it passed through a bed of fine grain sand which removed small particles and turbidity.
The filter is a model KK 12 x 25 (6 cells), designed for a flow rate of (US) 6,000 gallons per minute. Each cell contains a shallow bed of fine grain sand, and a unique underdrain design that permits periodic "pulsing" of the filter bed to dislodge trapped solids and prolong filter runs between backwashes.
Quick Turnaround
In the film-making business time is money, so the project called for extremely quick turnaround. Hydro-Clear filter Product Manager Neil Niemeyer visited the site in early July, 1996. The filter equipment was shipped the week of August 26. Filter start-up occurred in mid-October.
The water tank held the huge model of the ship and for filming purposes, the water needed to have visual clarity to a depth of 30 feet.
The units performed well, almost too well, reported Bill Simpson, USFilter field service technician on the project. "The operators told me they could see clear to the bottom of the tank that the filtrate was almost too clean."
Since introducing this filter system to the water and wastewater market, Zimpro Products has installed over 525 filter systems for raw water, storm water, municipal and industrial wastewater, and water reuse.
The Movie
The sinking of the Titanic was a tragedy of awesome proportions. James Cameron's epic film, now on video, captured the drama and pathos of the shipwrecked passengers and crew. Water clarity on the set enabled the Canadian born director to convincingly capture the anguish of the sinking liner, earning 11 Oscars for the epic production, tying the movie with Ben Hur's record of most Oscars won.
The tank's use as an aquatic set has not ended with the completion of James Cameron's masterpiece. Fox Studios filming tank and filtration system are being used by other filmmakers. Tomorrow Never Dies, In Dreams, and Deep Blue Sea were all filmed there, as was the current British TV mini-series Horatio Hornblower.