Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

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Scoper
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Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#1 Post by Scoper » Sun Feb 12, 2023 5:22 am

I would like to see a discussion concerning what works for you when collecting and viewing pond life.

What scopes, techniques (brightfield/darkfield/phase/etc) do you use?

What magnifications are most commonly used?

What tools/techniques for sample collections and lab hardware do you use?

Concerning taking pictures/videos, what equipment/techniques do you use?

Any other sites/forums covering pond life you would recommend?

What books would you recommend on the subject?

Thanks

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WWWW
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Location: The Netherlands

Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#2 Post by WWWW » Sun Feb 12, 2023 6:39 am

Nice initiative !

I will shortly describe my workflow :)

Collecting
with a small jar on a rope used to collect superficial material from the soil. Sometimes some plant material is also collected.

Preparing a sample
At home, preparations are made with pipettes and by occasionally using a preparation needle.

Light source
With the microscope, I use almost only bright field.

Observing
To look for organisms in the specimen, the 4x and 10x objectives are used first. If something is found the 40x.

Camera
A Moticam camera attached to the laptop is used.

Literature
Determining with the (German-language) book: Das Leben im Wassertropfen.
Search the internet.
Another very good and informative book (in German): http://www.mikrohamburg.de/Tips/PlanktonGerdSchmahl.pdf

dtsh
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Location: Wisconsin

Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#3 Post by dtsh » Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:20 am

Most of my ditch dipping is for mosquitoes, but I do occasionally bring a sample in to look at more closely.

I tend to use my AO10 with phase for most stuff, but I will sometimes use darkfield or regular brightfield.
Of all the stuff I have, I think my dipper is most interesting. It's just a typical plastic bottle cut up so that it's the bottom 1/4 or so with a 1 inch/25mm strip along the side as a tang which I tape to the pole. It's been quite handy.
dipper.jpg
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Scoper
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#4 Post by Scoper » Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:34 am

Thank you for the responses…it is helpful to know what others use.

Anybody else?

Thanks

Scoper
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#5 Post by Scoper » Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:52 pm

What magnifications are most frequently used?

Is 400x useful?

Phill Brown
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#6 Post by Phill Brown » Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:58 am

20x .5na is useful, sometimes 10x isn't quite enough but 40 .65 d.o.f is also more limited, when using well slides with a ring,40x working distance can limit viewing the boundaries, unless you have LWD or inverted
Rotating table is a nice thing to have.
I.R filter if you have halogen, reduces convection and boiling sensitive critters.
LED is still not my preference but each to their own.

einman
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#7 Post by einman » Mon Mar 20, 2023 4:47 pm

I generally use pipettes or a Turkey Baster (giant Pipette!). I use brighfield, either an inverted microscope and petri dishes or regular stand with well slides. I start with 10X/20X to locate a subject then zoom in as needed.

Scoper
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#8 Post by Scoper » Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:05 pm

Thanks for the advice.

I have have an inverted Hund scope with 4x, 10x and 20x and I am looking for a 40x LWD phase objective which is very hard to find.

Of course ‘more power’ is always wanted but I am wondering how often I would use it.

Thoughts?

Phill Brown
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#9 Post by Phill Brown » Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:03 am

Scoper wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:05 pm
Thanks for the advice.

I have have an inverted Hund scope with 4x, 10x and 20x and I am looking for a 40x LWD phase objective which is very hard to find.

Of course ‘more power’ is always wanted but I am wondering how often I would use it.

Thoughts?
Yes you would probably get enough use to make it worth having.
Maybe pick up a LWD 40x without phase if you find one.
That way you can better decide the value of adding phase if it turns up.

macnmotion
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#10 Post by macnmotion » Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:07 am

For pond life I have a 40x oil immersion objective and a 40x phase objective. I (almost) always use the oil for my videos. Much better clarity.

Scoper
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#11 Post by Scoper » Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:13 pm

What power is your oil objective?

macnmotion
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#12 Post by macnmotion » Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:18 pm

If you're referring to me, 40x oil.

Phill Brown
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#13 Post by Phill Brown » Tue Mar 21, 2023 5:02 pm

It's a case of N/A. The reduced d.o.f is a trade off for higher resolution.
I have 50x .95 oil which is good for resolution but 40x .65 is much less fussy for anything moving in suspension.

Scoper
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#14 Post by Scoper » Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:03 pm

When using oil, how are your live specimens contained?

macnmotion
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#15 Post by macnmotion » Wed Mar 22, 2023 12:21 am

Scoper wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:03 pm
When using oil, how are your live specimens contained?
I'm careful to not overfill. The cover glass contains the water without anything leaking. I tried cavity slides which are fine for lower power, but with 40x the depth of those slides cause too many focus issues. I'm considering a petri dish with a cover glass bottom built in but here in Thailand they're ridiculously expensive to order.

JWW
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Re: Collection/viewing of pond life..what works for you?

#16 Post by JWW » Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:37 am

Mine is pretty simple, a field scope, a few test tubes with plugs, a couple of small bottles, a toothbrush, some pipettes, slides, a few cover slips, clean water, and a couple of small microfiber cloths. Once back home, process and photograph with a real scope. I have quite a few scopes to choose from.

-JW:
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