Reef Central Online Community - Our tank's biology up close

Reef Central Online Community (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/index.php)

- The Reef Chemistry Forum (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=112)

- - Our tank's biology up close (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2567904)

Our tank's biology up close

Forgot to make this thread here. Pulling these pictures out of my tank journal.

A few weeks ago my microscope broke. It wasn't as old as PaulB's relic (I think he calls it an antique) but it was several decades old. So, I was then overwhelmed and excited with all the new options out there today and got a trinocular microscope with a 5MP camera. 40-2500x. Much stronger then I was using before.

I love looking at this stuff and now I can easily take pictures and videos of it all. Figured I'd share and maybe someone else might enjoy.

This is the microscope and kit I got. My kids had fun with the kit and prepared slides.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...ilpage_o03_s00

Cyano and some of the creatures living in it.

Sample was maybe around 1mm

~40x

Can see the blurry swirls of the bigger creature I got images of in the next post.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...06e3cfb0b2.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...a5a46830c7.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...ab89d267ea.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...94b2a94530.jpg

~1000x (at 2500x I could see a ton of micro organisms but the camera is limited to 1000x right now with my setup but a lot more life can be seen)

In the thick of it. Above was on the edges. This looked like snakes intertwining
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...eacc880d60.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8d409d2fca.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c4ddb15aa6.jpg

Few critters here
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6f6a93749b.jpg

This would twist like a corkscrew to move
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...750bdd8d5c.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...22fc2c0df5.jpg

There was a lot of these swimming around
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...2e31d6d0b3.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...3ba3183a0d.jpg

See if you can find it in the next two pictures. This very thin filament shoots across almost like its charged with electricity and corkscrewing at the same time. Very excited critter.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...06efbee59d.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...f1d257a34f.jpg

Then also saw a lot single celled organisms and protists with flagellates I don't think the camera was able to pick up as I saw it with the 25x WF lens in at 2500x. Spent many hours exploring that tiny sample of cyano last night. I'll see what I can do for the video taken.

I might have weird tastes, but you could blow those up; print them out on quality paper; put a simple black picture frame around them; and hang them tastefully on any wall as décor.

Fascinating and beautiful IMO! :bigeyes:

Microscopes are fun. I'm glad you are enjoying yours.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xxero (Post 24403180)

lol, thanks. I'm excited to be able to capture these images now and the kids like viewing on the laptop. Though my son still wants to look through the eye pieces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni (Post 24403209)

Microscopes are fun. I'm glad you are enjoying yours.

Very much fun and the digital camera and getting up closer aspects has made it even better. Going to go water bear hunting this weekend with the kids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bat21 (Post 24403542)

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Thank, more to come.

Thanks very much for sharing.

Video from the cyano exploration. And i will apologize right now for all the movement and shaking. I will keep that all in mind for future videos.

40x
http://youtu.be/insfgCOm5a4

100x

http://youtu.be/4jFDXVRMmdU

Last night I sampled some white stringy bacteria that grows through out my sump. There was a large amount of "larger" critters and spent most my time in the upper magnification ranges. Wanted to use the 1000x more but it was closing in on 2am and figured I needed to eat some dinner. lol

White stringy bacteria in the sump
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...3cb7564f38.jpg

And the smear
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9b5bd16762.jpg

It amazing the size of the things found in there.

I noticed a lot of those Y structures at various magnifications.