From

Location

Message

Date Posted

South Dakota

How large of compound microscope is required for inspecting tea samples for microbiology? Just something inexpensive to see if my tea is alive.

6/14/2020 3:30:24 PM

Central Illinois

http://www.microbehunter.com/observing-bacteria-under-the-light-microscope/#:~:text=Bacteria%20are%20difficult%20to%20see%20with%20a%20bright%2Dfield%20compound,them%20properly%20at%20this%20magnification.

6/15/2020 6:07:33 AM

Central Illinois

here is a lot of info https://www.kisorganics.com/blogs/news/the-ultimate-compost-tea-guide

6/15/2020 6:15:53 AM

Plymouth, MN

Cheap microscopes are brightfield. You can't see most bacteria on brightfield scopes unless you stain them--maybe there's a cheap and easy home gram stain kit you could find? Trouble with staining is that it'll kill the bugs in the process so you wouldn't be able to say who is viable. Phase contrast scope would be needed for live viewing, but those are going to put you back multiple hundreds.

6/15/2020 11:09:30 AM

Gone With The Win

I just taste it!!

6/15/2020 11:05:57 PM

South Dakota

I tried that, woke up in the garage six hours later. LOL Nothing like super charged worm poop!!!

6/16/2020 4:52:16 PM

Seattle, WA

Nothing wrong with brightfield microscopes it's all about the quality of your objectives. It's not about the most magnification either. I spend most of my time at 100x and 200x total magnification (10x eyepiece plus 10x and 20x objectives). I have a Meiji Phase Contrast microscope, but it's more expensive for phase contrast. With a decent filter on a brightfield microscope you can see plenty. I would suggest seeing if the microscope manufacturer will let you try out the microscope, when I bought mine I was allowed to use if for a few days to see if it was satisfactory for my needs.

7/18/2020 12:52:17 AM