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Procedures and Protocols

Complete workflow to assemble chemostat and start experiment

Days before assembly; start of experiments

Autoclaving media

Reconditioning and calibration of the dO probe

dO probe can be reconditioned a few days before the start of the experiment.

Recondition:

1. Open the pre-membrane cap counter clockwise. Discard the membrane. The membrane may be reusable if the probe has not been immersed in water for a long time.
2. Wash the probe under running DI/RO water. Inject DI/RO water into the probe by syringe if necessary, see Note below.
3. Dry the probe, get the DI/RO water out of the probe, such as by swinging.
4. Refill with recondition electrolyte. Manufacturer manual says about 5ml. I found electrolyte start leaking after 2ml for all four probes tested.
5. Recap with new membrane if replacing.
   

Calibration:

1. Before calibration, calibrate PC software to allow the hardware when connected to calibration plug, show about 0mV.

Note
If the probe has been left dry for a long time, i.e. there is not much dried salt after opening the cap, the washing process with water should not require too much work. Otherwise, one can use a syringe with needle to inject RO (DI) water through one to four of the holes. If white "powdery" substances are washed out, it is likely the probe has been left dry for a while.

Reconditioning and calibration of the pH probe

pH probe can be reconditioned and checked for performance before the start of the experiment.

1. Before calibration, calibrate PC software to allow the hardware when connected to calibration plug, show about 0mV.

Autoclaving of parts

List of parts that need to be autoclaved separately

Parts that need to be assembled before autoclaving

On the day of assembly

Sterilization of dO and pH probe

Photos and videos

Photos of assembly and diagram

Videos of chemostat