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Synaethesia
Astral BodySalesman
Registered: 06/07/05
Posts: 60
Loc: Flatland
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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Condensation in agar cultures
#5465037 - 03/31/06 06:14 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Agar is my new passion, but I'm not overly gifted in it and lack a well-sanatized area but I'm making progress none the less. These aren't my first cultures but I have always noticed a fair amount of condensation from the hot agar solution after I pour it. Sometimes a little water collects on the jelly. This last batch hag huge droplets on the lid and standing pools of water in the dishes. I can only presume this is neither good for promoting growth and must be horrible for contam control, but opening dishes ins't exactly a good idea. I think it is also a problem that maybe I'm incubating them too warm. Right now they're at from anywhere of 78-82 degrees. Is this likely the problem? Most importantly though, should I dump out the water in the dishes or leave it?
-------------------- Load Universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Fire. ~Nailing Bee to the Honey
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure
Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 1 year, 29 days
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Re: Condensation in agar cultures [Re: Synaethesia]
#5465094 - 03/31/06 06:34 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Don't disturb them unnecessarily. Over time, the excess water will replace moisture that evaporates from the dish. The moisture is caused from the inside of the dish being warmer than the outside.
When you pour agar, let it cool until it begins to thicken a bit. You want it to cool in the bottle you sterilize in, not the petri dishes. When cool enough to pour without heat protection for your hands, fill your petri dishes, and leave them stacked in a vertical pile. This will equalize the temperatures between the dishes and reduce condensation to a minimum. If you don't have a flowhood, you should slide the plastic cover back over the stack to enclose them as they solidify.
An excellent bottle for agar is a used whisky or other liquor bottle with a long neck and screw on lid. You can use polyfill or a synthetic filter disk cut to size in the lid. Just drill a 1/4" or larger hole in the lid. Cover with foil and PC. The filter will keep the agar from contaminating as the PC cools and until ready to pour. Don't remove the foil until just before you pour the dishes. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Synaethesia
Astral BodySalesman
Registered: 06/07/05
Posts: 60
Loc: Flatland
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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Re: Condensation in agar cultures [Re: RogerRabbit]
#5465288 - 03/31/06 07:42 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Well I am pouring them after teh solution has cooled down enought o handle the bottle, it's really only warm but I"m guessing the agar is still pretty hot. I used a wine bottle, which I think works really well. I also reduced the temperature some so I think I fixed that problem, but what about the water in the dishes? I mean there is easily a couple cc's.
-------------------- Load Universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Fire. ~Nailing Bee to the Honey
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Synaethesia
Astral BodySalesman
Registered: 06/07/05
Posts: 60
Loc: Flatland
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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Re: Condensation in agar cultures [Re: Synaethesia]
#5465867 - 03/31/06 11:26 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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shameless marketing
-------------------- Load Universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Fire. ~Nailing Bee to the Honey
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