6 replies to this topic

[Jonny8040]

Hey everybody,
Would you recommend using sand or perlite for water retention in a grout nest? I made some with just grout and water doesn’t stay very long as it dries out. Thanks!

In Jesus,
Jonny

[SuperFrank]

How long ago did you make the nests you have now? Concrete takes a bit to cure and will absorb water during this time and appear to "dry out" faster.

To answer your question, perlite would be significantly better as it will make the nest lighter and less dense.

[ANTdrew]

https://www.formicul...nced-hydration/

[steelplant]

I've found vermiculite and coir to work well for hydration in concrete. Hydrates better without the sand in the concrete mix, but is stronger with the sand in.

 

I've not tried perlite but read somewhere it can suck the moisture out of an ant's body. Not sure if this is true though.

[Jonny8040]

I've found vermiculite and coir to work well for hydration in concrete. Hydrates better without the sand in the concrete mix, but is stronger with the sand in.
 
I've not tried perlite but read somewhere it can suck the moisture out of an ant's body. Not sure if this is true though.

So if I mix sand and vermiculite in my grout then that should do the trick?

[SuperFrank]

You don't need to mix in additional sand. All grout contains sand, even if it is labeled as "unsanded" it will still contain sand (just finer) so there's not really any reason to add more

Edited by SuperFrank, July 28 2020 - 2:32 PM.

[SuperFrank]

Here is a video I made awhile ago that talks about formicarium design and may be helpful. For your purposes just know that grout is simply Portland cement and sand.