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The Aquarium

The increasingly popular role of Zebrafish in research has driven demand for a purpose-built facility at the University of Otago.

The 1130-tank facility uses state-of-the-art infrastructure manufactured by Italian company Tecniplast Aquatic Solutions. The facility incorporates four individual systems: A core of 1050 tanks made up of a CLS (Central Live Support) system and MLS (Multi-Linking) system; one quarantine system, totalling 50 tanks; and a toxicology unit of 30 tanks.

zebrafish tank closeup

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Our Aquarium Systems

  • Our CLS system comprises 15 racks that including coarse and fine mechanical filtration, carbon filtration, UV disinfection and recirculating pumps, two variable frequency driven pumps, pressure reader at mechanical filter level, pressure equaliser for constant pressure at tank level, flow meter to monitor water flow in the system, and advanced monitoring system with remote capability. This system runs on a dedicated pre-treated water supply.
  • Our MLS system comprises 6 racks that including coarse and fine mechanical filtration, carbon filtration, UV disinfection and recirculating pumps, two fixed frequency driven pumps, pressure reader at mechanical filter level, pressure equaliser for constant pressure at tank level, and advanced monitoring system with remote capability. This systems runs on a Reverse Osmosis water supply.
  • Our Toxicology system comprises 1 rack and provides a "flow through" solution for toxicology experiments. The system runs on a Reserve Osmosis water supply and does not recirculate the water unlike our other systems.
  • Our Quarantine system comprises 1 rack and is a stand-alone system dedicated to housing newly received fish for quarantine purposes. This system includes coarse and fine mechanical filtration, carbon filtration, UV disinfection and a recirculating fixed frequency pump, pressure reader at mechanical filter level, pressure equaliser for constant pressure at tank level, and advanced monitoring system with remote capability.
  • Fish are housed in 3.5L and 8L transparent polycarbonate tanks. Each tank has a dedicated water supply from the water treatment unit, and all tanks have a "push and pull" nozzle and valve for fine control of water flow. Each tank also has a visual indicator to confirm water flow at a glance and to warn of static tanks.

Our Fish Breeding Systems

zebrafish tanks and filters 2

  • ISpawn breeding unit For collection of large numbers of embryos. This unit has a 60L capacity, can house up to 200 fish for breeding, and allows the natural spawning of zebrafish while promoting fish mating behaviour. Both the ISpawn and ISpawn-S are designed to efficiently collect a large number of synchronised embryos in a brief and defined window of time.
  • ISpawn-S breeding unit A benchtop solution for collecting embryos. This unit has a 13L water capacity and can house up to 40 fish for breeding.
  • General breeding tanks We have a full complement of 1L and 1.7L breeding tanks comprising a solid external tank, internal tank with perforated bottom, divider, and lid.
  • A multi-shelved breeding trolley Dedicated to the storage and setup of breeding tanks and designed to maximise the holding capacity of breeding tanks. It features plastic castors with brakes, guaranteeing maximum simplicity in logistic / manoeuvering operations.
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