I believe the question refers tot he time between the sample is collected,
and when the analysis is performed. For most water samples (marine should
not differ by much) it is generally recommended that analyses be performed
within 6 hours of collection, and that the samples be stored chilled (4 C)
and in the dark. Thi is especially true for marine samples as light can
trigger oxidative damage.
"John Gentile" <yjgent at cox.net> wrote in message
news:BA201BA0.556D%yjgent at cox.net...
> I used to test well water for fecal coliforms and we held the Levine EMB
> plates for only 24 hours. The organisms will grow in 18-24 hours. On the
> small plate count dishes going more than 24 hours starts to dry out the
> agar.
>> When we were doing Most Probable Number counts (MPN) in broth tubes we did
> hold those for 48 hrs.
>> At any rate we followed the Standard Procedures book for water quality
> testing.
>> --
> John Gentile President, Rhode Island Apple
Group
>yjgent at cox.net RIAG Web page: www.wbwip.com/riag/
> "I never make mistakes, I only have unexpected learning opportunities!"
>>>> > From: peter.thompson at ec.gc.ca (Pete)
> > Organization: http://groups.google.com/> > Newsgroups: bionet.microbiology
> > Date: 13 Dec 2002 14:03:31 -0800
> > Subject: Fecal Coliforms - Water Samples - Holding Times -
> >
> > I'm looking for current research on how holding times (ie 6hrs, 8hrs,
> > 24hrs, 30hrs) affects fecal coliform numbers obtained from marine
> > water samples.
> >
> > Any relevant recent information would be much appreciated.
> >
> > Pete
>
