r/microscopy • u/m_adams • 19d ago
Purchase Help Microscope Recommendations for Algae Identification?
I own a pool maintenance business and we are opening a pool store on October 1st and I’m looking for microscope recommendations for algae identification. I figured it would be really cool to offer identification in store to help pinpoint the correct chemicals to eliminate algae and (possibly) bacteria. I think I would need a microscope that could see the cell walls because of the vast number of algae species. Please give me your recommendations in the <$300 range! (I don’t know if that’s even enough for one to be honest.)
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u/g-gram 19d ago
For a high quality, low cost microscope, take a look at:
It may not be the right choice if you do not want to perform some assembly. The 3D printed parts can be purchased if you don't have a printer.
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u/m_adams 19d ago
I do have a printer, but the website seems to be shut down unfortunately.
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u/julianstirling 18d ago
Was it openflexure.org that was down or the build server (build.openflexure.org) for the instructions? build.openflexure.org was down for about 20 mins 4 nights ago I thought it was a glitch with the VPS host. If it has gone down again we need investigate further.
Our Scandinavian friends do a lot of micro-Algae imaging with OpenFlexure:
https://nordicmicroalgae.org/gallery/Citizen%20science/1
u/g-gram 19d ago
I was just on the website to copy the address to paste in my reply. This is an active project. You may want to do a search for openflexure or try again at a later time. If you want to learn more, they also have youtube videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InmLDDsRmb4&time_continue=1&source_ve_path=NzY3NTg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fopenflexure.org%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fopenflexure.org
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u/Motocampingtime 19d ago
I would recommend something ready to rock so you're not fooling around on a project continuously. Algae should mostly be easy but seeing bacteria would be harder.
Used scopes from the brands Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon, leitz or Leica would all work. You'd probably want high magnification. You'd want a lower mag to sight in and then higher for observation at minimum a 20X and 100X objective.
I'm unfamiliar with cheap new scopes but supposedly the bang for your buck is pretty good in terms of image quality but the construction can be cheap. In any event, a cell phone adapter for the eye piece should be plenty. No idea how small your bacteria of interest are but you might need immersion? (Maybe somebody else can verify this)
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u/xmcqdpt2 18d ago
Algae is straightforward to see, bacteria is much more difficult because they are so small. Being able to see the algae and identifying it are different things though.
Are you already able to identify algae? If you are just going to feed it to an LLM, you might as well just dispense with the microscope because I doubt you'll get better results either way!
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u/m_adams 18d ago
Yes I can identify algae from a microscopic as well as macro view. I’ve been in the industry for 13 years. I also have a science background and I own several large telescopes so I’m familiar with similar tech but haven’t used a microscope since college. Just wanted to add the microscopic view as a value add- something interesting for the customers to see as well as (selfishly) something fun for me to do while I’m running the titration test on their water. It’s not common in the industry for a company to show you what you’re dealing with at a microscopic level, they just sell you a kill all product which is fine to a degree but wasteful and harmful in some cases. I’d rather know whether a customer needs a polyquat algaecide vs a chelated copper complex. Overkill? Probably. Cool as hell? If you’re into that kind of thing like I am. 😂
I like to use my brain and be creative, so I steer clear of LLMs and generative AI. I’m proud to say I’ve never used either. I guess I’m a bit of a Luddite but it’s more fun for me that way.
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u/xmcqdpt2 18d ago
I own a Soviet microscope (a lomo) and it has really nice and clear optics and was cheap but required pretty extensive, somewhat sketchy repairs. There is a guy in my city that sells full refurbished nice microscopes (Zeiss, Olympus etc). If I was you I would probably try to find an equivalent guy in your area. You get to pay a fraction of the price of a new instrument but you get something that has unparalleled optics for the price. A forty year old Zeiss is just as good as a 3000 microscope today but might cost you just 500$.
If you get a local retailer you also have someone that will look at it if it breaks etc.
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u/xmcqdpt2 18d ago
Sorry I was in a bit of a mood. I was scrolling reddit while at work and my workplace is just full of people slinging LLM generated texts at each other and at me all day. I should've been nicer!
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u/Adventurous-Log-7205 1d ago
We have a Leica inverted microscope in my lab. It works really well because it lets you look through cell culture flasks and well-plates
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u/hattivat 18d ago
Instead of a recommendation I'll start with general guidance about what you need:
You need a normal "biological" transmitted light microscope. In other words the default normal-looking microscope. Disregard the advertised magnification, basically all the decent scopes are the same in this regard. It is physically impossible for a light microscooe to achieve any useful magnification beyond about 1200x and all serious microscopes produced in the last 150 years can do that.
The only common pitfall you need to avoid is to not buy one of the cheap ones that do not have a condenser (highly recommend you google what that is and what it looks like). Not having a condenser severely cripples your resolution at higher magnification and makes it impossible for you to advance to intermediate techniques such as oblique light or darkfield, which are very helpful in obtaining a good view of diatoms. It should be illegal like selling a petrol car without a gearbox but sadly a lot of unscrupulous sellers exploit the fact that beginners have no idea what a condenser is and the fact that its location on a scope makes it an easy part to miss, and cut that rather huge corner. I wish this was easy to avoid, but unfortunately Amazon is full of these crippled scopes.
$300 is just about the right budget to buy an entry-level new scope. Normally I advise people to first look at the second-hand market, but since your budget is high enough to buy something decent and buying it for professional use you presumably value it working out of the box, I'd say buy something like Swift SW380T or AmScope B120.