The new £1.5m aquarium is set to open at the Horniman Museum in London, on 14 July.

The Horniman’s original aquarium, which was closed when construction began on the new project in June last year, opened in 1903 and was Britain’s first free public aquarium.

The new incarnation of the aquarium – which received the bulk of its funding from ReDiscover, the science centre renewal fund – is located in the basement of the museum and boasts 200sq m (2,150sq ft) of visitor space and a further 200sq m of laboratories and food preparation areas.

Fifteen displays in seven zones will provide habitats supporting more than 150 species of animals and plants, with the largest tank containing 14,000 litres of water.

The zones are named Drawn to Water, British Pond Life, Drifters, Seashores. Fijian Coral Reef, Mangrove Swamp and South American Rainforest.

Sir David Attenborough, a patron of the museum, said: “The opening of the new Horniman Aquarium could not be more timely in helping to raise awareness of the need to protect increasingly aquatic environments here and abroad.”

Kerwin Porter, Aquarium curator and co-designer of the project, added: “We’re trying to help people respect the natural world by encouraging them to be aware of environments under threat by using live exhibits in an informative way.” Details: www.horniman.ac.uk

Photograph: Moon Jellyfish will feature in the ‘Drifters’ zone of the new aquarium