Microscopes, the most important tool for reefing.

FortyFour44

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Taking some of your advice, I think I have a better sample. My first “sample” was actually dust on the lens of the $17 scope referenced in the original post.

Does this look like a better sample?

I took a small bit affected sand and put it in a cup. I shook it and poured the water on a napkin (preventing sand from following). This came from that water and hopefully isn’t detritus. I didn’t know how else to remove this from the sand.

Thank you.

36C3E437-0DBA-4F98-ADD1-8B4A6B1DDDFA.jpeg DCFD48B3-8AD4-4D8A-AD70-252455E6797E.jpeg 1108A7C7-291E-4466-8FA6-2154B48B8FC6.jpeg
 
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Ippyroy

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Taking some of your advice, I think I have a better sample. My first “sample” was actually dust on the lens of the $17 scope referenced in the original post.

Does this look like a better sample?

I took a small bit affected sand and put it in a cup. I shook it and poured the water on a napkin (preventing sand from following). This came from that water and hopefully isn’t detritus. I didn’t know how else to remove this from the sand.

Thank you.

36C3E437-0DBA-4F98-ADD1-8B4A6B1DDDFA.jpeg DCFD48B3-8AD4-4D8A-AD70-252455E6797E.jpeg 1108A7C7-291E-4466-8FA6-2154B48B8FC6.jpeg
Look like diatoms.
 

stacksoner

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I was heavy in the microscope game when I first started reefing. It helps give you peace of mind in knowing what weird stuff is growing in your tank.

I learned that it's silly to invest time and energy identifying nuisance growths and adding whatever chem is needed to knock it out. All nuisance issues are directly related to poor husbandry. Time is much better spent examining ones tank management routine and correcting issues from a grassroots level
 
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Ippyroy

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I was heavy in the microscope game when I first started reefing. It helps give you peace of mind in knowing what weird stuff is growing in your tank.

I learned that it's silly to invest time and energy identifying nuisance growths and adding whatever chem is needed to knock it out. All nuisance issues are directly related to poor husbandry. Time is much better spent examining ones tank management routine and correcting issues from a grassroots level
You can't correct the issues if you don't know what you have. Dinos and diatoms look very similar to the naked eye. Diatoms you just wait it out or fix your source water issue. Dinos need to be dealt with because some are very toxic and can kill the livestock in your tank.
 

MexiReefer

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Probably some type of Dino?
 

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Hans-Werner

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Probably some type of Dino?
This is all together. In the center, the oval microalga is a dino, maybe Prorocentrum. The long rods above, shaped like a bow for bow and arrow are diatoms. Again there is the nucleus in the mid and colored plasts on both sides of the nucleus. The long spirals and maybe the filaments and maybe the wine red color in the background are cyanobakteria.
 

MexiReefer

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This is all together. In the center, the oval microalga is a dino, maybe Prorocentrum. The long rods above, shaped like a bow for bow and arrow are diatoms. Again there is the nucleus in the mid and colored plasts on both sides of the nucleus. The long spirals and maybe the filaments and maybe the wine red color in the background are cyanobakteria.
Thanks Hans-Werner. Yes, I can see the diatoms. I donˋt know how to feel that I have all of them in the tank :/
 
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Ippyroy

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Thanks Hans-Werner. Yes, I can see the diatoms. I donˋt know how to feel that I have all of them in the tank :/
They are fine. Nothing to worry about. Diatoms will not bloom if there aren't enough silicates. Dinos will only come out if the conditions are perfect for them, no nutrients, or if you shock your tank. If they are the type that goes into the water column, add a UV. Cyano is easily cleared by Chemiclean.
Basically, just keep your nutrients in check.
 

Aqua Man

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It’s alive!! It was not me. New amscope works great!
A3605029-E9D4-4A55-82D9-26A621A42B07.jpeg
Getting a good picture is really tuff free handed. Saw at least 8 different things moving around.
 

MexiReefer

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I took the pic of this little bugger. He was moving a lot with a single flagellum. Seems to be a unicellular thing as some of the organelles are visible within -or a I might have no idea what I am talking about. ;)
 

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Hans-Werner

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Here ist an image taken with a cheap microscope and a Sony Nex-3N APS-C camera zoomed in at 50 mm. It shows the boat-shaped Diatoms and larger and smaller bag-shaped Dinoflagellates.
AquSven09.03.2021.JPG
Compact cameras frequently can be used to take photographs through the eyepiece which are circular when zoomed out and square when zoomed in.
 

Hans-Werner

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Here is a small macroscopic organism, although a unicellular protist. It is a symbiotic foraminifer. Giant foraminifers have unicellular symbiotic algae in their tissue which allows them mixotrophic nutrition, nutrition from organic substances and inorganic salts and light.
Foraminifer.JPG
The picture shows a section taken again with the cheap Bresser microscope and Sony Nex 3N camera, this time with the LED for reflected light and without coverslip. The magnification is object lens 4x and ocular lens 16 x.

Normally transmitted light is used. With transmitted light it is very important to use a coverslip.

I saw the few millimeter large discs on a Valonia nest alga and expected to find another foraminifer, Heterostegina depressa. I was surprised that it was quite hard to get the foraminifers off with tweezers, Heterostegina usually sits quite loose on the substate. Also surprising was to find another genus which I still have to determine but which I have already seen in images before. This species shows the multi-chambered test very well. I am really curious if some indicative value is adscribed to this species.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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