Best affordable microscope

cmcoker · Dec 31, 2018

Sorry I totally spaced on getting the brands today, year end inventory day..

Ill get it Wednesday.

As far as the lenses, I had to replace the oil immersion lens after it was left sitting in the oil and the inside of the lens got oil in it. The high dry was drug through the oil and ruined. The replacements I ordered were $40 each.

I deleted the cytology pics I've taken, but that is the microscope and phone holder I used to take this video.

Gareth elliott · Dec 31, 2018

Not great resolution but dinoflagellates are id able with a kid scope and a camera phone. 1000x and some weight to it(so doesnt move when trying to snap a pic) so something metal not plastic. Would help those that are just differentiating between genuses might not get a species id but will say its dinos not cyano. This way there is an entry level reefer option

Idoc · Dec 31, 2018

Mark Gray said:
Following I need one but it's hard to pick for me at least lol

This one has worked well for me with very clear images. It's actually fun to pick out some algae gettin the back wall and just take a look at what's in there! Im amazed at all the life that showed up... especially since i started with dry rock and dry sand!

Order though through Amazon and you have 30 days to try it out. If it doesn't work, return it for full refund. That's what I did with the cheaper one I initially bought!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AM5XB5O/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Frogger · Dec 31, 2018

I have an Am Scope compound microscope and a stereo dissecting microscope that I find way more useful for actually looking closely at the corals for pests like flatworms, copepods etc. Every new coral I get gets dipped and fully inspected before going into my quarantine tank for at least 2 months. I inspect each piece every couple weeks. These are things you cannot readily see with a hand lens.

I find the compound microscope only really useful identifying cyanos and dinos. You can't put a coral under it.

Reefahholic · Dec 31, 2018

Frogger said:
I have an Am Scope compound microscope and a stereo dissecting microscope that I find way more useful for actually looking closely at the corals for pests like flatworms, copepods etc. Every new coral I get gets dipped and fully inspected before going into my quarantine tank for at least 2 months. I inspect each piece every couple weeks. These are things you cannot readily see with a hand lens.

I find the compound microscope only really useful identifying cyanos and dinos. You can't put a coral under it.

That's probably a great idea.

Reefahholic · Dec 31, 2018

Buying a microscope is a lot like starting a new reef tank.

Don't buy anything for a least a few months while you do a lot of homework. You will quickly see that your first choice was not the best choice.

Also consider what you will be doing with it. Do you just want to look at parasites? Do you want to take quality photos and videos? Are you OK with shooting video though the eye piece? It's challenging and if you'd like to share with people on the message board...I'd get a photo port with USB or similar camera. I can assure you that it's not just pixel's that are important. There's a lot of other stuff that's super important for good quality images and video. The camera is not something that you really want to slack on. There's no way around it...they're expensive...or at least the one I want is.

Trickman2 · Dec 31, 2018

My two tops picks at the moment.

AmScope T450C 40X-2500X LED Siedentopf Trinocular Compound Microscope w/3D Mechanical Stage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197JMZMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-PUkCb8XHKM5C

OMAX 40X-2500X Trinocular Biological Compound Microscope with Replaceable LED Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SGCE7O4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yQUkCbA682GJ4

Swingline77 · Jan 1, 2019

cmcoker said:
Sorry I totally spaced on getting the brands today, year end inventory day..

Ill get it Wednesday.

As far as the lenses, I had to replace the oil immersion lens after it was left sitting in the oil and the inside of the lens got oil in it. The high dry was drug through the oil and ruined. The replacements I ordered were $40 each.

I deleted the cytology pics I've taken, but that is the microscope and phone holder I used to take this video.

Thanks. By the way, that's a "Sand Worm", from Dune.

Reefahholic · Jan 1, 2019

Trickman2 said:
My two tops picks at the moment.

AmScope T450C 40X-2500X LED Siedentopf Trinocular Compound Microscope w/3D Mechanical Stage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197JMZMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-PUkCb8XHKM5C

OMAX 40X-2500X Trinocular Biological Compound Microscope with Replaceable LED Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SGCE7O4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yQUkCbA682GJ4

I like the AmScope.

Trickman2 · Jan 1, 2019

Reefahholic said:
I like the AmScope.

I was leaning towards that one and figured it would be a better scope for my kids due to the eye piece being a Siedentopf Trinocular.

cmcoker · Jan 2, 2019

Cellphone adapter we use is made by carson. It's the Hookupz 2.0. We use a variety of phones, including iPhones and Samsung S series. The iPhones tended to need to have protective cases removed.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LCHLDWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-2slCbZRN6610
The lenses are Labomed LP series and can be found new on Ebay

Brew12 · Jan 2, 2019

I've got this one and it works great for what I want it to do.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O9GNOTA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Trickman2 · Jan 4, 2019

So I did get the amscope and it seems like a very nice microscope. AmScope T450C 40X-2500X LED Siedentopf Trinocular Compound Microscope w/3D Mechanical Stage
I also picked up a 5mm Thick Microscope Slide Double Concave, Deep Well For Aquatic Specimens on amazon.

divermike_99 · Jan 4, 2019

there is a great web site for microscope's and other related supply's (labx.com) and if i remember right medical dosing equipt you might want to check out

SuncrestReef · Jan 9, 2019

I purchased this microscope and absolutely love it. In particular, the coarse & fine focus knobs and smooth X and Y-axis scrolling knobs are very useful.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006BGVIMQ

While it has a trinocular port to attach a camera, I've found it's easier to just place my iPhone in a universal eyepiece adapter to capture video, so you could probably be fine with just the binocular version of the scope to save a few bucks. Here are some examples captured from my iPhone:

Humblefish · Jan 9, 2019

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

Gareth elliott · Jan 9, 2019

Examples of Dinoflagellates with a $10 micrpscope and a camera phone.

Not the best picture i have but

Not the greatest clarity, but easy to tell what you are dealing with. And for disease enough to say its ich ~.3mm vs velvet
~.05mm just using some known comparison like a grain of iodized table salt.

Also ran a couple experiments using red 40, the red food coloring in your cabinet, as a microscope dye. Since red 40 in some scientific studies selectively bound to chitin over other compounds. Since chitin is not found in most algae but is found in most Dinoflagellates. Was inconclusive, but the dinos i experimented on were unarmored [emoji23]

leahfiish · Jan 9, 2019

This thread reminded me to break out my scope. I don't know what model it is, my mom gave it to me, it's nothing fancy. But I just took some hair algae out of my sump and found some worms. Here's a quick phone video.
Is there a thread for microscope ID's? Would love to know what I'm looking at and whether it's good or bad.

Turkey head · Jan 9, 2019

I just got a stereo microscope from amscope.com. Around $250. I’m really happy with it. It’s a cheap scope but does everything we need. It’s not the highest of quality but the image is plenty good enough and it takes color pictures that are good enough. There were cheaper ones that are probably good enough too.

bblumberg · Jan 10, 2019

I'd favor purchasing a used, high quality microscope. For example, I bought a Zeiss dissecting microscope on Ebay for $200 a few years back.

You can hardly go wrong with one of the major brands, i.e., Nikon, Olympus, Zeiss, Leica, Leitz, Wild. Most medical and veterinary students are required to buy these and often sell them after graduation. I just searched on Ebay and see quite a few for less than $500 and some really good ones for less than $300. Many more in the "sponsored items"