Design of a computerized, temperature-controlled, recirculating aquaria system

We built a recirculating aquaria system with computerized temperature control to maintain static temperatures, increase temperatures 1 °C/day, and maintain diel temperature fluctuations up to 10 °C. A LabVIEW program compared the temperature recorded by thermocouples in fish tanks to a desired set temperature and then calculated the amount of hot or cold water to add to tanks to reach or maintain the desired temperature. Intellifaucet® three-way mixing valves controlled temperature of the input water and ensured that all fish tanks had the same turnover rate. The system was analyzed over a period of 50 days and was fully functional for 96% of that time. Six different temperature treatments were run simultaneously in 18, 72 L fish tanks and temperatures stayed within 0.5 °C of set temperature. We used the system to determine the upper temperature tolerance of fishes, but it could be used in aquaculture, ecological studies, or other aquatic work where temperature control is required.