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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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First agar
#18947958 - 10/08/13 02:11 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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I just inoculated my first agar trays, which honestly I think i fucked them up and that they wont grow anything, but we'll see. Anyway, I was wondering if petri dishes were supposed to be wrapped with plastic wrap or not. I remember reading that they should be, but I saw pictures of mason jars that had micropore, so I'm not sure. Thanks.
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SkysTheLimit
A curious mind


Registered: 07/28/13
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18948262 - 10/08/13 05:47 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Most people use parafilm to wrap the petri dish (im assuming its with the lid on) but i guess cling wrap / glad wrap will work fine as well.
Did you use sterile technique?
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Yes I did use sterile technique, but I think i made the agar wrong. It wound up looking hard like plastic after sterilization, and jts pretty yellow. 1tbps agar, 1/2tsp potato flakes, 1/4tsp honey, some tetracycline, and roughly 1/2cup water. Steam sterilized for 20 minutes.
Should i wrap my mason jars in plastic wrap then?
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hamloaf
Loaf of Fam.


Registered: 12/23/09
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18949300 - 10/08/13 12:04 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Agar mediums harden after they get heated. A twenty minute steam bath isn't sufficient sterilization for agar though. Agar needs to be heated to 250 degrees ferinheight (15 psi) and held there with a pressure cooker for about 45 minutes to become sterile.
Unless your growing a strain that benefits from running on potato dextrose agar or something try malt extract agar.
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hidyn
Noob



Registered: 07/14/13
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Loc: Canada
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Re: First agar [Re: hamloaf]
#18949855 - 10/08/13 02:29 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Parafilm is used because while it acts like saran wrap in that you can stretch it, stick it, rip and remove it, it's breathable, like the micropore.
I'm pretty sure Saran wrap is air tight.
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Re: First agar [Re: hidyn]
#18950313 - 10/08/13 04:16 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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So I should get rid of the saran warp asap?
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hidyn
Noob



Registered: 07/14/13
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18951001 - 10/08/13 06:35 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't know whether or not you should get rid of the Saran Wrap, but according to the University of YouTube, you should get parafilm. 
I just started using agar myself, and I haven't wrapped my dishes. No contamination yet but it's only been a little over a week.
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SkysTheLimit
A curious mind


Registered: 07/28/13
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Re: First agar [Re: hidyn]
#18951639 - 10/08/13 08:35 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Parafilm melts at above 100C (boiling temp). I'd stick with saran wrap if it doesn't melt. As for the agar, I think you've either added too much agar or too much of the sugar medium (i.e malt/starch) and its caramelised.
-------------------- Hmm...
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Re: First agar [Re: hidyn]
#18951646 - 10/08/13 08:37 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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I have no idea where to get parafilm, and I'm running very thin on money. Right now things are pretty "nig-rigged" as they said in highschool.
Also, is it worth seeing if it colonizes or should I just dump this batch and try again?
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SkysTheLimit
A curious mind


Registered: 07/28/13
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18952499 - 10/09/13 12:06 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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You don't need parafilm, Btw are you in Australia?
-------------------- Hmm...
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Well one of my petri's doesn't actually have a lid, hence the plastic wrap.. I was drunk (dumb dumb) when I made the trays, and broke one of my petri lids.
And no, I'm oceans away from you; I wish I was an Aussie though.
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SkysTheLimit
A curious mind


Registered: 07/28/13
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18956101 - 10/09/13 07:39 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Oh lol, yeah then glad wrap/ cling wrap will do fine as long as you can see it
-------------------- Hmm...
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18958115 - 10/10/13 06:38 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
KatuXiK said: Right now things are pretty "nig-rigged" as they said in highschool.
I think the PC term is "ghetto-rigged", although some might still take offence.
-FF
-------------------- It drinks the alcohol and abstains from the weed or else it gets the hose again. -Chemy The difference between the substances doesn't matter. This is a war on consciousness, on our right to the very essence of what we are. With no control over that, we have no need to speak of freedom or a free society. -fireseed "If we are going to have a war on marijuana, the least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield." -Neal Levine (MPP) I find the whole "my drug should be legal but yours should be illegal" mindset disgusting and hypocritical. It's what George Bush and company do when they drink a cocktail and debate the best way to imprison marijuana users. -Diploid
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Never actually heard "ghetto-rigged" before, maybe the youth around here didn't catch on lol.
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Jeff
Addict



Registered: 10/06/12
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18973685 - 10/13/13 07:55 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
KatuXiK said: Yes I did use sterile technique, but I think i made the agar wrong. It wound up looking hard like plastic after sterilization, and jts pretty yellow. 1tbps agar, 1/2tsp potato flakes, 1/4tsp honey, some tetracycline, and roughly 1/2cup water. Steam sterilized for 20 minutes.
Should i wrap my mason jars in plastic wrap then?
That is a lot of agar for 1/2 cup of water. I usually weigh mine instead of relying on volume measurements, but if I remember right 1 tbsp is close to 8 grams and a 1/2 cup of water is about 118 grams. That is a very thick/rich mix of agar. 2 grams per 100 grams of water is about as thick as I go.
-------------------- Myco-tek
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Re: First agar [Re: Jeff]
#18974876 - 10/14/13 12:53 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yeah, that pretty much confirms what I thought. I realized after doing it, the tek that I used called for ground agar, not powdered. I'll give this another shot in a couple of days; I just birthed my first jars so pretty much all of my attention is there right now. :P
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KatuXiK


Registered: 09/19/13
Posts: 175
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Re: First agar [Re: KatuXiK]
#18975875 - 10/14/13 09:51 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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I tried spitting on one of my trays to see if it could support any life at all, 2 days and still no signs of bacterial growth. Either the anti-biotic that I used worked very well, or I used too much of that along with the agar.
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