Visitors to Orlando's Sea World of Florida can take a journey through one of the country's largest collections of venomous and poisonous underwater habitats -- "Terrors of the Deep". Captive puffer fish, barracuda and lionfish populate several tanks along with over 400 eels that live in a completely artificial coral reef environment.

Much of the undersea sensation is created by lighting equipment sealed in an hidden overhead chamber. The tank's "sky" is illuminated by color filtered 1,000 watt metal halide floodlights.

Twelve pattern projectors controlled by a dimming sequencer simulate constantly moving clouds. Standard marine grade accent lights mimic direct sunlight, while a cluster of super-bright halogen PARs masquerades as the sun itself.

Meanwhile, fiber optic bundles lurk with the eels in the coral formations, distributing light randomly to shadowed recesses.

The exhibit's climax takes visitors through the "Shark Encounter", a 20,000 gallon shark habitat where precisely positioned lighting creates the illusion of a deep, dark, open ocean environment.

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