Loligo® Systems develops research equipment for aquatic biology. Our products allow scientists all over the world to excel in the fields of swimming performance, respirometry, blood physiology and behavior analysis in a diversity of marine and freshwater organisms. We offer customized solutions as well as free scientific advice and support to anyone in need. Loligo® Systems is here to help.
Water quality control systems for multiple fish tanks, aquaria, etc. Our OmniCTRL systems allow you to monitor, log, and regulate water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH/CO2, and salinity in a high number of independent tanks – all from a single Windows computer. Regulate one or several parameters simultaneously and automatically to user-defined setpoints or protocols.
The OmniCTRL software lets you connect multiple measurement instruments to the same computer, and control pumps and valves through the PowerX4 devices that communicate via Bluetooth (wireless) or LAN/ethernet (cabled).
OmniCTRL is easy-to-use software for Win10/11, making it easy to log data, calibrate sensors, change measurement units, and set up automated protocols for changes in any of the four water quality parameters. Each protocol can be customized to your specific research application, and can be set to regulate in steps or in a sinusoid manner, e.g., to mimic natural fluctuations like diurnal changes. You can save and load the protocols for faster and more consistent setups.
More tanks?
A core OmniCTRL system includes software and hardware for working with a single tank and 1-way regulation (i.e., parameter level up OR down). If you need to work with more tanks, simply add one OmniCTRL system (Add-on) for each extra tank.
2-way regulation?
If you want to have 2-way regulation (i.e., parameter level up AND down) in your core OmniCTRL system, simply add the required temperature, gas, or fluid control set:
For Witrox users
OmniCTRL is fully compatible with our Witrox 1 or Witrox 4 oxygen instruments.
OmniCTRL is user-friendly software for Windows 10/11 that allows you to monitor, log, and regulate water quality parameters in a high number of independent tanks – all from a single PC. It is used with our OmniCTRL systems, and the software communicates seamlessly with required instruments for water parameter sensing, and pump/solenoid valve control for water parameter regulation.
OmniCTRL combines the functionality of the now discontinued WitroxCTRL and CapCTRL programs. You can now monitor, log, and regulate water quality parameters; temperature, oxygen, pH/CO2, and salinity in each independent tank. And with required hardware, you can even combine different parameters, like temperature and oxygen, and include both 1-way (parameter level up OR down) and 2-way regulation (parameter level up AND down). This upgraded version also features several performance improvements and new protocol functionality.
You can create customized protocols for each water quality parameter. The protocol files can be saved and later loaded back into OmniCTRL to save time and for increased consistency of experiments. Each parameter can be controlled and regulated in a stepwise or sinusoid manner, e.g., to mimic natural fluctuations like diurnal changes in oxygen saturation or temperature.
OmniCTRL works with the German WTW instruments for sensing temperature, oxygen, pH/CO2, and salinity. The WTW instruments are connected to your PC via USB. For pump and solenoid valve control, you can utilize the functionality of PowerX4. This industrial grade power strip connects to your PC wirelessly via Bluetooth or wired via an LAN/ethernet cable. Finally, Witrox oxygen/temperature instrument owners can benefit from using their Witrox 1 and Witrox 4 in OmniCTRL for unbeaten accuracy and stability of oxygen and temperature data with zero sensor maintenance.
During an experiment, each logged parameter is displayed via real-time graphs for each connected sensing instrument. Each graph can be customized to your liking and exported to Excel or as an image. All logged data also be saved and exported as a .csv file for further analysis in software like Excel.
If you own a previous version of WitroxCTRL (1 or 2) or CapCTRL, you can get OmniCTRL at a reduced price by choosing the OmniCTRL upgrade.
Automated shuttle box system for preference/avoidance measurements in aquatic invertebrates or fish. This core system includes a shuttle tank, and everything needed for video behavior analysis, data acquisition, and digital control of experimental devices for water quality regulation.
The animal can "shuttle" freely between the two sub compartments in the shuttle tank. In a dynamic experiment, each compartment can have opposite acting controls, where the animal “controls” the level of the water quality parameter (e.g., oxygen level or temperature) by moving between each compartment. In a static experiment, the water quality parameter is constant and different in each of the compartments making an ideal setup for exposure, avoidance, or choice tests.
The core shuttle box system comes with the ShuttleSoft 3 software – the fast and user-friendly real-time video tracking software for Windows 10. ShuttleSoft 3 allows for data acquisition and in-depth analysis, while providing easy control and setup of hardware and water quality regulation.
There is a free demo of ShuttleSoft 3, and more information on the software is available in our Quick guide for ShuttleSoft 3.
More shuttle tanks
ShuttleSoft 3 can analyze, control, and regulate up three tanks at a time. Our Shuttle Box system (Add-on) will extend your core system with everything needed to run experiments in an extra shuttle tank.
For Witrox users
ShuttleSoft 3 is fully compatible with our Witrox 1 or Witrox 4 oxygen instruments.
ShuttleSoft 3 is fast and user-friendly real-time video tracking and analysis software for Windows 10. It is used with our aquatic shuttle box systems for automated preference/avoidance tests in fish or inverts. The software communicates seamlessly with required hardware for video recording, water parameter sensing, and pump control for water parameter regulation.
This major upgraded version features many improvements and additions as well as a much better and faster tracking performance on regular PCs. ShuttleSoft 3 can now record video, log data, and regulate water parameters in up to three shuttle tanks at a time – all from a single PC. And with the possibility of tracking multiple objects, you can now reduce your time spent on shuttle box experiments considerably.
You can track multiple objects simultaneously in up to three tanks. ShuttleSoft 3 can even distinguish objects of same (or different) shape, color, and size, and it can handle occlusions, e.g., collisions or crossing paths. ShuttleSoft 3 works with most video cameras and file formats, and it includes a video recording tool so that you can replay each experiment offline. Videos can be exported as .avi files with or without data overlay.
Exported videos can be analyzed separately from live experiments. This offline feature applies to static shuttle box experiments, and means that you can video record your experiment, and then analyze the video whenever you have time.
ShuttleSoft 3 also boasts an in-depth data analysis dashboard. You can view live data and statistics during live experiments or analyze one or multiple experiments offline. Besides data parameter calculations and statistics, each data parameter is also shown in a customizable graph that can be exported individually. Additionally, you can export all data or a selection hereof as an Excel file for further analysis.
Calculated parameters:
Zones, e.g., high zone and low zone, masks, and filter settings are easily created, and can be changed during an experiment to account for changes, e.g., in the ambient light level.
Use this industrial grade 4-fold power strip for software-driven control and monitoring of equipment via LAN/Ethernet or Bluetooth.
Connect pumps, solenoid valves, or stirrers to one of four independent electrical sockets switching at zero current (ZCS), e.g., for automated respirometry, water quality regulation, shuttle box experiments etc.
Electrical parameters like input voltage and power consumption (in Amps) for each relay, can be monitored and logged in Loligo® software for diagnostics of connected appliances.
Check out our new shuttle box systems
We offer complete and fully automated shuttle box systems for preference/avoidance experiments in aquatic invertebrates and fish. The systems include all the nec...
The 14th International Congress on the Biology of Fish will be held in Montpellier at the Corum conference center in France from June 28th to July 1st, 2022. The bien