semen tank nitrogen level

How low is the nitrogen allowed to go before you fill it up again? Right now it is at 29 centimeters (11.4 inches). Thanks.

i always just top it off when im picking up semen

Hey DCC YOU MUST not live out in the sticks like we are ,most people around here have a three month schedule , check your tanks every two weeks atleast an don't let it get any lower than 4cc, I'm not real comfortable with that .... but I think thats what someone told me ....

I have heard that as long as there is vapor when you open the lid, your semen is OK.
I get nervous also when it starts getting low.

Freddy said:

Hey DCC YOU MUST not live out in the sticks like we are ,most people around here have a three month schedule , check your tanks every two weeks atleast an don't let it get any lower than 4cc, I'm not real comfortable with that .... but I think thats what someone told me ....

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haha no sir Freddy I live about 25 miles for college station where i pick up my semen at bovine- elite

took an AI class this winter. Its not the level of nitrogen, its just the presence of it. As long as there is some in the tank you should be OK. The rule to go by is if you see vapor when you open the tank your alright. Also, if I remeber corerectly I believe that semen companys come to fill it up when they estimate when your tank has about 2inches left. If your at 11 or so inches your fine and dandy. i think they try to schedule a visit ebery 2 months, depending on how large your tank is. Hope this helps

I have heard that embryos should be kept IN the nitrogen, so always on bottom of cane and always in liquid. Anyone else heard this?

Show Heifer said:

I have heard that embryos should be kept IN the nitrogen, so always on bottom of cane and always in liquid. Anyone else heard this?

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yeah I always heard semen can be safe on vapor but eggs need liquid N

I had a tank that was out of liquid.  It was still cold and the semen was still good.  There were also embryos in the tank.  As far as i know they are good also

Show Heifer said:

I have heard that embryos should be kept IN the nitrogen, so always on bottom of cane and always in liquid. Anyone else heard this?

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I have also heard this as well.Several years ago, I had a tank lose it's seal and I lost 200 doses of valuable semen and 32 embryos. I found it shortly after it happened and I called our AI unit. I was told to transfer everything I could to another tank as quickly as possible. I remember he told me there was a slight chance that if there was some vapor in the bottom of the tank, that some of the semen may be OK but that it was probably toast for the embryos. As it turned out, everything was lost ... and for that reason, I will never store embryos in my own tanks again. I store all my embryos at the embryo transplant centers, even if they are collected on the farm. Besides it being more secure, if they are stored at an ET center, and provided they have been trypsin washed, they will remain exportable to most countries. If they are stored in your tank, they lose  their export status.

Thanks for the replies. We bought the tank used and the seller said its about 15 yrs old so i'm just happy it works. Filled it up about 2 months ago and its gone down 4 centimeters.

Set your tank somewhere that you walk by it regurally and get in a habit of grabbing a handle and just pick it up a bit then set it back down and listen for a second. You'll get used to how heavy it feels and if you can hear the canisters rocking in the liquid, you're alright.