#1 Science Forum For Lab Technicians

PeterK wrote: 17 Feb 2026, 12:57 Here is the link
https://www.biotek.com.au/products/cons ... /cultures/

Ah, thank you!

Just a quick update.
Biotek made the broths on Monday and we received them , believe it or not via Aussie Post the next day .
The prac was done on the Wednesday and this morning (Thursday) , I found “classic “ textbook Petrie dishes in the incubator .
But man-O-man , the prep-room stunk of old ...

Hi everyone. When you make up nutrient agar for pouring (sterile) plates, is heating it up to boiling to dissolve the agar also enough to sterilise the agar? Or is it necessary to pressure cook or autoclave the agar before pouring the plates?

Thanks!

Ooooh, I just searched up "pluck" on that website, and kangaroo and goat plucks came up! But they are out of stock....

I wonder if they order them in on request. Hopefully not frozen.....


Actually, just had another look, and they also come in 1kg bags, so I'm guessing they wouldn't be whole ...

We recently ordered lamb hearts and kidneys from this website:

https://www.allpetspantry.com.au/product/lamb-heart/

Their website says they deliver to most of the east coast and southern side of Australia (Gold Coast, Brisbane/Sunshine Coast down to Melbourne).

Seems to be a lot cheaper than ...

Thank you. I suggested buying the supermarket distilled water and reusing the bottles, but the teacher pointed out that they are made from the same type of plastic, so shouldn't make a difference. We have one 10L jerry can style container. I think we should get another one for extra storage and use ...

Hi. I have a few questions. Firstly, what bottles do you use for day-to-day distilled water use? As in if the teacher asks for distilled water for a prac, what do you give them. I started here about a year ago and they were, and currently still are using old juice and vinegar bottles. We also have ...

Look up 2ml serological pipettes with your suppliers. I found some cheaper ones the other day but don't remember where (I can't open the link either). They come in plastic or glass.


Great suggestion, Rosalie! I found some 0.2mL ones that we already had and it worked perfectly! :clap3: I also ...

bigmack wrote: 03 Jun 2024, 12:18

elaruu wrote: 28 May 2024, 14:54 For some reason that link is not working for me, RosalieL. I would love to know what it is

Westlab blocks links to other science supply businesses . ......I guess thats fair ....they pay the bill

Ah, right, that makes sense.

For some reason that link is not working for me, RosalieL. I would love to know what it is

Anna Z wrote: 28 May 2024, 11:33 Ahhh I see, we seal with blutak and would use a smaller temperature differential so I guess the shorter length works. Good idea sourcing more.

Thanks! Great idea with the blutak (sometimes the simplest solutions escape me! ). I'll suggest that for next time if I don't manage to find any.

Try a Haines search:

Tubing Borosilicate Glass, 5mm x 0.5m pk/10


Thanks. Haines doesn't seem to have any with capillary size inner diameter. I think I want about 1mm internal diameter.


Glass pasture pipettes would do the job, snap off the end bit :)


Sorry to be difficult, but I can't ...

OK, thanks. I'll give that a go.

Hmmm, it doesn't seem to exist anywhere that I can find. I wonder where they got it from in the past

Anastasia wrote: 27 May 2024, 14:22 Try a Haines search:

Tubing Borosilicate Glass, 5mm x 0.5m pk/10

Thanks. Haines doesn't seem to have any with capillary size inner diameter. I think I want about 1mm internal diameter.

Thanks all. I may be blind, but I can't seem to find any from Haines or Science Supply Australia.

I don't want the capillary tubing sets, just some capillary tube with one internal diameter. It's for several different uses, but specifically this time it is for a prac where they make thermometers ...

Hi everyone,
Just wondering where to source glass tubing from? Has anyone bought any recently? I'm specifically looking for capillary tubing. Long pieces that can be cut to various lengths.
Thanks!

Thanks both. We'll probably get that one too if it's decided we need a new one.

Does anyone have any feedback on the plastic one in the link above?

Thanks bigmack. I will try silicon grease. The teacher specifically asked for sodium sulfate rather than sulfuric acid because she doesn't like the acid leaking everywhere.