Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) must be submitted to the ATRF Management Committee for all animal husbandry and experimental procedures to be used in the ATRF. The accompanying list of SOPs was generated to assist ATRF project applicants with their proposed work. Reference to the applicable SOP can be made on the submitted application form, and the document requested. All SOPs are the intellectual property of the respective authors and approval for use of an SOP will ultimately come from the author. Modification of an existing SOP is not permitted without the expressed permission of the author.

1. At least 3 weeks prior to the expected start date of the experiment, discuss the experimental design and your particular requirements with the ATRF Manager.
2. At least 2 weeks prior to the expected start date of the experiment, complete and submit an ATRF Submission and Approval Form to the ATRF Manager.  
   This form will require information about the research project and experimental design, water and wastewater treatment needs, University Council on Animal Care and Supply (UCACS) and Biosafety permit numbers, personnel involved in the project, space and equipment needs and a research timetable.  The submission will be reviewed by the ATRF Management Committee. Requests for use of the ATRF for teaching and aquatic organism holding/colonies use the same form, and are handled in the same way as requests for research space.
3. Upon approval and prior to initiation of the experiment, the primary contact person for the experiment will be sent a start-up package.  This package includes orientation materials and instructions for tank labels and a project binder, which is used to hold all permits, SOPs and emergency contact information for the experiment. At this time, the ATRF Manager will generate ATRF access codes for all personnel involved in the project.
4. After receiving approval and preferably 1 week prior to the expected start date of the project, the experiment may be set up as previously discussed with the ATRF Manager in the approved location.  Users are responsible for set up, maintenance, cleaning and take down of their experiments.

• Users of the ATRF must ensure that University Biosafety, Health and Safety, and CCAC regulations are strictly followed.
• All users must have successfully completed the University Animal Care course prior to accessing the ATRF.
• All users are responsible for feeding and care of their aquatic organisms, and cleaning and basic maintenance of their experimental tanks, equipment and surrounding area.
• All users are responsible for decontaminating and treating any waste water produced as a result of their experiment.
• A thorough cleaning of research space and materials must be completed within 24 hours of the end date of the experiment.
• Only authorized personnel are permitted access to the ATRF.  Guests must be given approval to enter the facility by the ATRF Manager.
• Any equipment or chemicals to be brought into the ATRF must be approved by the ATRF Manager.
• Extension of the timeline for a current research project must be submitted using a project amendment form to the ATRF Manager in advance of the original end date.
• Addition of personnel to a current research project requires submission of a project amendment form followed by registration with the ATRF Manager prior to ATRF access.