Microscope for ID?

[aaron186]

I have an outbreak and I’m not really sure what it is. My nitrates and phosphates are 0 so I think it’s dinos but it doesn’t look exactly like the pics I’m seeing. It doesn’t scrape off the rocks easily either. I saw some people making an ID off a microscope. Is there a recommendation for what scope to buy. How do I get the algae under a slide if it doesn’t scrape off easily? How do I get a pic from the scope onto to here to get help with the ID?

 

[fishywishy]

.

 

[taricha]

Is there a recommendation for what scope to buy.

https://amscope.com/collections/student-microscopes-kids-microscopes/products/m110c-2l-pb10

Something like this. "Student" microscope. not "Kids".
metal body, glass optics. light from above or below.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Apart from diatoms, what are you trying to ID?

 

[DaJMasta]

Looking on the used market will likely get you a lot more bang for your buck, but a lot of options will work. Making optics good enough to get pretty good clarity and magnification isn't a huge deal like it was long ago, so even the sub $100 class new microscopes can be decent. A monocular will do the job, it's generally more enjoyable for people to look through a binocular microscope, and something like a "stereo microscope" likely is going to offer you a lot lower magnification than you want - perfect for working under or looking at larvae or small creatures you can already see, but not the magnification you want for IDing microscopic things.

Stay away from really high power eyepieces, and remember that the image is going to start looking bad (blurry, inconsistent focus) at anything over 400x unless you're using immersion objectives, coverslips, or particularly good (expensive) optics, so don't buy into "oh wow it can do 2500x it must be better!". You probably want at least a 25x objective and a 10x eyepiece (250x total), and something like 40-60x objectives can be helpful for smaller things, but with a 10x eyepiece, a 100x objective is not going to look clearer than a 60x objective, the image will just be bigger. Even at 60x, you probably won't see much more sharpness/clarity than a 30x or so without appropriate coverslip and immersion fluid. Having a low power objective (<= 5x) can be useful for larger organisms and locating things on the slide.

Also worth mentioning camera options - there are some camera-only microscopes that can work fine, just make sure they have enough magnification and a reasonable mount. Keep in mind that these are generally lit from the lens side (reflected illumination), whereas a normal upright microscope will be lit from the underside (transmitted illumination), and the latter is generally better for biological stuff. A phone camera or similar can be just held up to a normal eyepiece for reasonable results, but mounts or special cameras exist that can hold it stable and do better, and you can find microscopes that have a dedicated port for a camera, which is usually the preferred configuration for higher end options. They're usually called a trinocular microscope (a binocular pair for your eyes and a third port for a camera).

As for getting the algae on there, I'd probably remove some with a pipette, scraper, or toothbrush, and then suck it up into a little cup. let it settle to the bottom and get a drop from a pipette and put it on the slide, in a well if it's that kind of slide, and under a coverslip if it's a standard slide. A new microscope will generally come with some slides and basic accessories, but buying used doesn't always. There are many vendors that can supply starter kits or individual bits, but Amscope (linked above) has a pretty wide selection for pretty reasonable prices.

 

[aaron186]

Thank you!

 

[nano reef]

Looking on the used market will likely get you a lot more bang for your buck, but a lot of options will work. Making optics good enough to get pretty good clarity and magnification isn't a huge deal like it was long ago, so even the sub $100 class new microscopes can be decent. A monocular will do the job, it's generally more enjoyable for people to look through a binocular microscope, and something like a "stereo microscope" likely is going to offer you a lot lower magnification than you want - perfect for working under or looking at larvae or small creatures you can already see, but not the magnification you want for IDing microscopic things.

Stay away from really high power eyepieces, and remember that the image is going to start looking bad (blurry, inconsistent focus) at anything over 400x unless you're using immersion objectives, coverslips, or particularly good (expensive) optics, so don't buy into "oh wow it can do 2500x it must be better!". You probably want at least a 25x objective and a 10x eyepiece (250x total), and something like 40-60x objectives can be helpful for smaller things, but with a 10x eyepiece, a 100x objective is not going to look clearer than a 60x objective, the image will just be bigger. Even at 60x, you probably won't see much more sharpness/clarity than a 30x or so without appropriate coverslip and immersion fluid. Having a low power objective (<= 5x) can be useful for larger organisms and locating things on the slide.

Also worth mentioning camera options - there are some camera-only microscopes that can work fine, just make sure they have enough magnification and a reasonable mount. Keep in mind that these are generally lit from the lens side (reflected illumination), whereas a normal upright microscope will be lit from the underside (transmitted illumination), and the latter is generally better for biological stuff. A phone camera or similar can be just held up to a normal eyepiece for reasonable results, but mounts or special cameras exist that can hold it stable and do better, and you can find microscopes that have a dedicated port for a camera, which is usually the preferred configuration for higher end options. They're usually called a trinocular microscope (a binocular pair for your eyes and a third port for a camera).

As for getting the algae on there, I'd probably remove some with a pipette, scraper, or toothbrush, and then suck it up into a little cup. let it settle to the bottom and get a drop from a pipette and put it on the slide, in a well if it's that kind of slide, and under a coverslip if it's a standard slide. A new microscope will generally come with some slides and basic accessories, but buying used doesn't always. There are many vendors that can supply starter kits or individual bits, but Amscope (linked above) has a pretty wide selection for pretty reasonable prices.

Thanks very helpful!