Construction of Xenopus systems for the University of Zürich

10 June 2020

Our team is currently busy with the construction of ten new Xenopus husbandry systems for the University of Zürich, Switzerland. The systems will be completely built up and tested in our workshop before they will be shipped to Switzerland. The racks will be divided over two rooms (5 racks per room), one room equipped for housing Xenopus tropicalis, one for housing Xenopus laevis. Inside each room two ZEBCARE filtration units will be placed connected to respectively two and three racks.

The ZEBCARE filtration system has two types of biological filtration, a moving bed filter and a trickling tower. Besides biological filtration the trickling tower ensures degassing of the system water before it is pumped back to the aquaria. Furthermore the filtration system is provided with a heater, and a UV-C to reduce the bacterial pressure. The salt- and pH dosing systems underneath the racks, linked to the monitoring and control system ensures a stable water quality. In the room for Xenopus Laevis, the systems will in addition be equipped with a cooler device for maintaining an optimal water temperature of 18°C.