Knowledge Base

Fill and Drain Cycle

Before you start using the system, it is good to make sure that the whole water circuit is clean.

Important: Always drain the system at the end of the experiments.

What You Need

Demineralized or distilled water, and a water container or sink.

1 - Fill the System

1. Turn on the DanioVision Observation Chamber. On the DanioVision Temperature Control Unit, switch the Operation mode to Fill/Drain.
2. Turn the Drain tap completely to Closed. Water will flow as depicted in the scheme.
3. Slowly start pouring water into the basin of the DanioVision Observation Chamber.

   Important: Stop adding water when the water level reaches the edge of the basin indicated in the figure.

   As a result, the water starts flowing through the tubes. Pour more water a few times, until all bubbles in the tubes have gone and the basin is completely filled.

2 - Drain the System

1. Keep the Operation switch to Fill/Drain and turn the Drain tap to Open. Water will flow as depicted in the scheme.
2. When the basin is empty, turn the Drain tap to Closed to remove all remaining water from the tubes and let it flow into the basin.
3. Turn the Drain tap to Open again, to completely drain the DanioVision Observation Chamber.

Normal Use with Set Water Temperature

1. Turn on the DanioVision Observation Chamber.

   Important: After you turned on the Observation Chamber, wait at least 15 minutes before you start an experiment in EthoVision XT.

2. Open the DanioVision Observation Chamber, and locate the Anti-Moisture switch inside the chamber, at the right of the camera. Set the switch in one of the two modes:
   • On: Choose this when the room temperature is lower than the desired water temperature.
   • Off: Choose this when the room temperature is higher than the desired water temperature.
3. On the DanioVision Temperature Control Unit, switch the Operation mode to Fill/Drain.
4. Turn the Drain tap completely to Closed. Water will flow as depicted in the scheme.
5. Slowly start pouring water into the basin of the DanioVision Observation Chamber.

   Important: Stop adding water when the water level reaches the edge of the basin indicated in the figure.

   Important: We strongly recommend using demineralized or distilled water to minimize contamination of the system and the accumulation of calcium and salt.

   As a result, the water starts flowing through the tubes. Pour more water a few times, until all bubbles in the tubes have gone and the basin is completely filled.
6. Close the DanioVision Observation Chamber before you set the desired temperature in the next steps.
7. Set the Operation switch to On.
8. Next to the temperature display, hold the Set button for about 1 second; the display flashes displaying the currently set temperature.
9. Use the arrow keys to set the desired temperature.
10. Confirm by pressing the Set button once.

    Important: If the difference between the actual and set water temperature is more than 0.5 °Celsius / 0.9 °Fahrenheit, an error code appears. This error message disappears as soon as the water temperature is within a 0.5 °C / 0.9 °F range of the set value again.

11. Wait until the set temperature has been reached. This takes on average 10 minutes, depending on the set temperature and the temperature in the room. During this process, the status indicated by the LED lights at the front is on Heating / Cooling. Once the temperature is stable at the set value, the status changes to Ready.

    The DanioVision Temperature Control Unit is now ready to start an experiment. Make sure that the DanioVision Observation Chamber has been on for at least 15 minutes.

Displaying Celsius or Fahrenheit

You can choose to display the temperature in °Celsius or °Fahrenheit. To set the display unit, do the following:

1. Set the Operation switch to On.
2. Keep the Prg and Set buttons both pressed until the entry code appears on the temperature display.
3. Use the arrow keys to change the entry code and press Set. Program c0 appears on the display.
4. Use the arrow keys to go to program c18 and press Set.
5. Use the arrow keys to set the temperature unit to Celsius or Fahrenheit and press Set to confirm.
6. Keep the Prg button pressed until you exit the program mode.

Source: DanioVision TCU Reference Manual, Noldus Information Technology