Jos I have been looking into purchasing a semen tank to store my (3)pony stallion's semen. I have listed the 2 that I'm considering mainly because of the price and I found the link on your website. When I freeze my boys I want 5ml straws, I don't want to have to deal with thawing several .5 straws at a time. The information about the tanks don't mention the storage capacity of 5ml straws or am I missing it? Are the tanks listed below capable of storing 5ml straws, if so do you have a guess of how many? Will the cannister handle the longer straws (I'm guessing the 5ml straws are longer) or will I have to get special cannister. Or do you have a better recommendation. I assume I will have to top up the tank more often to make sure the longer straw stay covered. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
MVE SC MILLENIUM 20 # of Cannisters: 6 # of 1/2 cc Straws (10/cane): 540 # of 1/2 straws (1 level bulk): 780 # of 1.2 & 2.0 ml vials (5/cane): 150 # of racks: N/ALiquid Nitrogen Capacity: 20.5 L Static evaporation rate (liters/day): .095 L Normal Working Duration (days): 135 days
or
MVE XC MILLENIUM 20 Number of Cannisters: 6 # of 1/2 cc Straws (10/cane): 720 # of 1/2 straws (1 level bulk): 1122 # of 1.2 & 2.0 ml vials (5/cane): 210 # of racks: N/A Liquid Nitrogen Capacity: 20.5 Static evaporation rate (liters/day): .095 Normal Working Duration (days): 140 Neck Opening:2.18 inches Overall Height:25.7 inches Outside diameter: 14.5 inches Cannister height: 11 inches Weight empty:23 lbs Weight full: 59.5 lbs.
Both the tanks you mention are suitable for storage of the 5-ml straws. We prefer the XC because it will hold more (there really isn't much difference between the two to look at other than the diameter of the canisters - 1.5" vs. 1.65"). It is an ideal tank for the small operation such as you are describing. The XC tank will hold about 180 of the 5-ml straws.
The 5-ml straws (or at least the ones that we use) are 11" long, and fit in the canisters nicely. You do not need to keep the straws covered with nitrogen (it would be almost impossible to do so anyway without filling every few days!) - the vapour in the tanks coupled with the design will maintain at -160° C or lower, which is where you want it to be. Purchase a dip stick as well as a tank, and dip your tank weekly to determine nitrogen levels. We like to fill ours when they get to about half-full. Dipping weekly also gives you an early warning if you have a tank that is losing it's vacuum and ability to maintain the cold temperatures - although be aware that sometimes they can fail very rapidly with little warning.
<blatant commercial plug> When it's time to freeze your boys, please give out mobile lab a consideration! We'll be in Florida in January, and maybe before! And we use the 5-ml straws!
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