Aiptasia Larval Strainer Assembly

These are parts to assemble strainers with different sizes of nylon mesh which fit in either 1-L  or 2-L glass beakers to collect, clean and rinse Aiptasia gametes and larvae. The beaker sizes should be self-explanatory by the file names. 

Each individual assembly consists of a funnel, a collet and four tensioning clamps.

There are two types of funnels, one with fins at the top and one without, the fins are for cases, where the mesh itself should be immersed in the liquid within the beaker and the fins can rest on the rim of the beaker allowing hands-free operation; the funnel without is for cases where this is not needed because the assembly will be stacked on top of a second one or will use a collet with fins to rest on the beaker rim. 

The collets are in versions with fins to hold the assembly on the very top of a beaker or without if they need to fit into the beaker. Each version is available in two slightly different sizes to be able to tension either coarse nylon meshes with 100 to 150-µm mesh sizes or finer ones with 41 or 20-µm mesh sizes. 

Print settings:

All parts are designed to be printed in PETG, without any supports in 0.2-mm layer height, concentric top and bottom fill and 25% or more infill. Print the funnels upright, the collects inverted and the clamps on their side.

After printing clean up any stringing or burrs with a sharp scalpel and a heat gun, cut out a fitting piece of mesh (with enough excess on all sides to extend above the collet top when tensioned), place the piece centered onto the collet and push down the funnel, check for good tension and secure the collet with the clamps. If the gap between the collet and the funnel is too big, the bottom part of the funnel can be wrapped in scotch tape until a good fit is achieved.

We use the following nylon meshes from Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems:

- 20-µm nylon mesh, 3-20/14

- 41-µm nylon mesh, M46

- 125-µm nylon mesh, M125

- 150-µm nylon mesh, M150