[Nhcoll-l] Drums, etc

Wed Apr 27 11:17:34 EDT 2022

Nathalie

All of the specimens we place in tanks are individually tagged with a catalog number however, in rare cases we do have a lot of specimens in a tank.  Ion some cases these are tied together to maintain the lot, in other cases they are just left loose but individually tagged with the same catalog number.  In some cases, usually for large lots of smaller individuals that will not fit in a jar, we have created cheesecloth bags for the fish and have labelled the bag with a catalog number tag.  I will admit that as the tanks get fuller, specimens are more difficult to locate and unless managed carefully can become over full resulting in specimens sitting out of alcohol.  Tank alcohol concentration and levels need to be periodically monitored to ensure that there is no evaporation or reduction in concentration.  We usually do a tank inventory every couple of years to keep on top of that.  Tanks can also be a space concern and we are slowly but surely running out of space for tanks that are usually kept below our static shelving units in our collection.  At some point we are looking at a grant to install tank racking systems to accommodate more tanks and alleviate some of our overcrowding issues.

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335 
Email: abentley at ku.edu  
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258
http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu
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-----Original Message-----
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of DjanChekar, Nathalie
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 10:03 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Drums, etc

Dear all,
I'm curious about ways of separating specimens in the steel tanks, as specimens that are too large for glass jars often do not fill a stainless steel tank. To maximize use of the tanks, we're looking into how we might put several lots in one. It raises many issues, shared preservative, physical contact/compression, etc... 
Thanks for your insight,
Nathalie

Nathalie Djan-Chékar
Natural History Collections Manager
Provincial Museum Division
The Rooms
t: 709 757- 8082   
9 Bonaventure Ave, PO Box 1800, St. John's, NL, Canada  A1C 5P9

-----Original Message-----
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of John E Simmons
Sent: 27 avril 2022 12:15
To: Bentley, Andrew Charles <abentley at ku.edu>
Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Drums, etc
I agree with Andy, the Delta Design steel tanks are vastly superior to any others on the market.

I also second his choice for the "Gamma Seal lid" containers. Laura Abrazinskas has used these at the Michigan State University Museum for years with great success--they seal really tight.

Keep all polyethylene (usually stamped PE on the bottom) out of sunlight and interior UV sources (such as fluorescent lights), as exposure to UV will cause the PE to deteriorate over time.

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 9:30 AM Bentley, Andrew Charles <abentley at ku.edu> wrote:
Tonya

We too use metal tanks from Delta Designs (we have found that they are superior to Steel Fixtures tanks) - see attached.  They come in three sizes and can also be custom made to pretty much any size.  You may be able to shop these designs around in Australia to see if there is someone there who would make them for you.  The drawback is that these are pretty expensive - as attached from some time ago.  Steel prices and supply chain issues have increased these I am sure.

As a cheaper alternative we have had some success with using these in the field and they are very sturdy and leak proof.  We have shipped specimens back from the field in these without issue.  They too come in various sizes and have a gasketed lid and indentations for carrying - https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chewy.com%2Fgamma2-vittles-vault-pet-food-storage%2Fdp%2F101384&data=05%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C4369055dc13b48ccd6af08da285f18d1%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637866686310561781%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Peu%2Fg7N7H3SCMs%2F09OPwJd5%2BtFzylP7iuFLbzo4AFuM%3D&reserved=0

I would however warn you off these - https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.universityproducts.com%2Fpolycarbonate-storage-pails-for-wet-collections.html&data=05%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C4369055dc13b48ccd6af08da285f18d1%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637866686310561781%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vzZFA%2FrU6dQv8hEElkEIeBG%2FGLssksYRlg8dbzfOY8w%3D&reserved=0.  Our herpetology division played around with these some and they are not alcohol safe - they crack over time and do not seal well at all.

Hope that helps

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute

Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335
Email: abentley at ku.edu  

ORCID: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Forcid.org%2F0000-0002-3093-1258&data=05%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C4369055dc13b48ccd6af08da285f18d1%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637866686310561781%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7hS98CeghABBNRZ2nfo5DFBTD2DC%2FIHG1JaxOB80HvM%3D&reserved=0

http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu

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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace)
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 11:29 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Drums, etc

 Hello all,

I am trying to figure out a nice solution for housing larger specimens. Right now we have them stored in either old canning jars (really rammed in, not great), or in buckets (don't seal properly and aren't archival) or drums with rubber (?) gaskets (they seem to leak when you tip them, no matter how much they are tightened). I really want a good, leak-proof or at least minimising solution, and I feel I haven't found it yet. It's really frustrating - the drums are even made for brewing, so you would think they would form a nice seal, but they don't seem to. If any of you have a solution you like for housing medium to larger specimens (and I actually mean anything over a 2L jar), or a solution for making gasketed drums work, I would love to hear it.

Thank you!

Cheers,

Tonya
-------------------------------------------------

Dr. Tonya M. Haff
Collection Manager
Australian National Wildlife Collection
CSIRO

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