920 replies to this topic

[Cypherf0x]

Pretty cool, but it looks like they might slide around pretty easily.

 

A little bit of Sugru at the corners will easily fix that.  You could do that to quite a few of them with a single pack.

[Crystals]

A bit of silicone along the edges would stop any sliding.

[dspdrew]

Spraying it with Plasti Dip would solve that problem.

[Gregory2455]

Spraying it with Plasti Dip ...

You mean the substance that attacks Veromessor nervous systems?

[dspdrew]

Yeah. I see no reason any ants would be put in contact with the test tube holders. Also, over a long period of time the toxic chemicals would eventually evaporate.

[Chromerust]

Just a little update, I placed a colony of Solenopsis Invicta into the formicarium I showed earlier. They have been doing pretty awesome and like to hang out up top under the heat lamp.

 

[Gregory2455]

This does it. I am getting a heat mat for mine. :]

[Chromerust]

No! Heat from the bottom is bad. I don't recomend that at all

[dspdrew]

I think the best heat is from lights shining on the out world. It's more natural.

[Gregory2455]

Hmm... That is pretty interesting, what is the science behind heat from the bottom being bad?

[Chromerust]

I think the best heat is from lights shining on the out world. It's more natural.

They just don't like heat from the bottom. Direct contact with a hot surface is just not good all the way around. The ants will constantly be trying to climb out. In my setup I rarely see a single ant climbing on the sides of the container

[Mathiacus]

I finally got around to making a half way decent outworld for that extra large block. .

The top is pine with aluminium mesh. I put the foam weather strip around the inside of the "skirt" to hold it firmly down. This was my first time drilling glass that I actually intended to use. It went flawlessly. . I went down to the bay and picked up some driftwood sticks and pinched two rocks from the garden. The substrate is about 10 mm of washed sand.

No oil has been used on this one. I have discovered from my friend's mad bravery that this species can be handled and they are not at all agressive while foraging (in the outworld) so it does not really matter if they are on the lid when I open it.. so far.

Apart from the absence of the few small cacti that I plan to grow in this, it is finished. My first finished formicarium/outworld combo.

I had planned on having the nest inside the tank and having an "all in one" but I decided that I was happy with the block and I just wanted something nice to look at.

What do you guys and gals think?

[dspdrew]

Just wondering how you're planning to grow the cacti in there.

[Mathiacus]

I have not gotten as far as actually looking at the cacti. But I was thinking I could put a few beds of whatever they grow in down and ring them with pebbles to keep it in place then take the cacti out of the pots and dump em on top (or however plant types do it).

[Gregory2455]

I will have Cacti in my dream Acromyrmex out world! Because I am putting a layer of Grout onto the bottom of mine, I will have shallow bowls, probably metal, that the tops will be level with the grout.I will stick to small cacti, and the cacti substrate will be covered with some sand that should probably stick there and not be lose, but I do not know that part yet, it will just be to make it look like the rest of the out world's environment.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, I've been thinking of ways to have live plants in the out world and keep ants from nesting in them at the same time. I think cacti won't be too difficult, but forest plants might be a little tough. I was thinking of doing something similar to what you mentioned Greg. I was planning to basically cut holes for pots to sit in, hanging below the level of the out world.

[Cypherf0x]

Hub v3 production print.  The laser cut 3mm acrylic offers a nice view.  It allows the connections of multiple nests very neatly without a mess of hoses.  All the files to make it are on the github I linked in an earlier post.

 

[Gregory2455]

Very nice, but would you not make them like legos as @caswal did? So that they can attach and stick together?

[Cypherf0x]

Very nice, but would you not make them like legos as @caswal did? So that they can attach and stick together?

 

It's a hose hub.  It's designed to be very easy to 3d print on any technology and use minimal material to keep costs low.  A firm connection with something like a lego setup would require very tight tolerances that not all 3d printing setups can provide.  I'd rather have a simple design that just works and is easy to produce.  This way you can use Shapeways, 3d hubs, your own printer, or any other service to make it from the files you can download and not worry about it working if the tolerance is off a hundred microns or so.  The second version was modular but after working with a few of them it wasn't worth the hassle and increased material usage, so this version is simple and just works.

[Gregory2455]

I see now, that makes more sense now.