Automated multiport flow-through water pumping and sampling system

Flow-through systems are often used in aquarium and aquaculture facilities, laboratories, and aboard research vessels and other mobile systems to collect, analyze, and monitor water properties as they vary across time and location. These systems most often intake water from a single source and deliver it to a suite of flow-through sensors after which waste water either exits the system or is recirculated back to the source. Here we describe a system that is designed to take water from multiple sources via a multiport valve manifold and deliver it to a common sample stream, facilitating analysis by a single suite of flow-through and probe type sensors. Build cost depends on the manifold design and the number of valves, but generally under $9000. The inclusion of a Free Surface Interface Cup (FSIC) allows probe type sensors or sample “sippers” that require unpressurized conditions to be utilized down-stream of the pumping system and manifold. With the exception of the multiport sampling manifold, all components of this system are available off-the-shelf, simplifying construction, service, and maintenance. The operating system code is open source and based on the Arduino platform, enabling users to customize the code to better fit their requirements.