174 replies to this topic

[drtrmiller]

How is the seal at the reservoir towers?  My Truncorum are so tiny I'd be concerned with drownings in the new design.

 

I'm lightly sanding the tops to make them a bit more level, in response to some things I saw with the earlier versions.

 

I could incorporate small O-rings as a gasket around the reservoir, but that may be tricky to do since I don't want to apply too much pressure to the lid with the screws.

 

The only ants I've observed that could crawl into the reservoir were Brachymyrmex, and that was before I started sanding them down a bit.

Edited by drtrmiller, August 16 2015 - 1:35 PM.

[PTAntFan]

The airtight seal you'd get from gaskets/O-rings would help ensure evaporation passes through the wood/mesh block.

Edited by PTAntFan, August 16 2015 - 1:34 PM.

[drtrmiller]

The airtight seal you'd get from gaskets/O-rings would help ensure evaporation passes through the wood/mesh block.

 

I've got a whole kit of O-rings.  I'll look into something now.

[drtrmiller]

Sorry for the sparse updates.  I'm completing a move to a new, larger office, where I'll have more room to design and manufacture products for you guys.  More on that, later.

 

In the meantime, I'm hoping to ship the following within the next few days:

• GroTube/GlassBox orders placed up to June 16
• All GroTube/GlassBox orders that requested a Grey GroTube housing
• All GroTube/GlassBox orders that requested a Pink GroTube housing

Khaki, white, and blue housings will be finished shortly thereafter.

 

I'll have lots of pictures of the latest GroTubes and GlassBox foraging areas to show by the end of the week.  Stay tuned!

Edited by drtrmiller, August 24 2015 - 7:45 PM.

[john.harrold]

Terry, I assume you fixed the mesh issue. Can you tell us what your solution was?

[drtrmiller]

I can't say it's fixed yet.  I'm using an adhesive around the rim of the mesh.

[drtrmiller]

Terry, I assume you fixed the mesh issue. Can you tell us what your solution was?

I'm going to try welding the polypropylene mesh to the plastic housing with a fine tipped heat iron. This may be the most elegant solution, since I really hate adhesives.

 

Edit: An almost invisible drop of hot-melt glue along the seam resolves this issue completely.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 3 2015 - 9:26 PM.

[drtrmiller]

This is a Small Cute Beach foraging area with Salmon Pink backsplash and a two-tone pink and white nest housing.

 

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:05 PM.

[drtrmiller]

This is a Small Woodlands foraging area with standard gloss white backsplash and grey nest housing.

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:05 PM.

[Nes187]

Looks good as always, next extra money I have I'll be ordering up one, I'm not overly excited with the Canadian dollar right now though, how's the wait times going?

[drtrmiller]

Looks good as always, next extra money I have I'll be ordering up one, I'm not overly excited with the Canadian dollar right now though, how's the wait times going?

 

I'm just getting settled into my new office right now, so I'm aiming to whittle down the order queue as quickly as I can.  I'm spending a very long time with each one and end up discarding and redoing ones that don't meet my standards.  This makes it difficult to provide accurate estimates on wait times.

 

As always, orders are processed in the order in which they are received, and so the sooner an order is placed, the sooner it is finished and shipped.

 

I'm hoping to have better availability by the holiday season, which is fast approaching.

[drtrmiller]

This is a Medium Beach foraging area with premium Phantom White backsplash (lets in more light from behind).

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:04 PM.

[drtrmiller]

I moved a small Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony into a Large Desert foraging area that had some cosmetic issues that were more trouble to correct than to just start over (so as to repurpose it, rather than send to a customer).  This is them eating a dubia roach.

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:04 PM.

[ctantkeeper]

i like the addition of fake grass to the glassbox

[drtrmiller]

It's all natural (albeit dead) plant fibers. I don't use anything fake.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 7 2015 - 12:35 PM.

[ctantkeeper]

wow, impressive!!! will mine come with beach grass?

[drtrmiller]

wow, impressive!!! will mine come with beach grass?

 

It will look similar to the Medium Beach one in the above post.

 

 

 

This is a Medium Desert with standard gloss white backsplash.

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:04 PM.

[Zeiss]

Now with double the sacrificial stump!  

[drtrmiller]

This is a Small Woodlands foraging area with Glacier Blue backsplash.  Notice how a single light source plays with the scenery and adds contrast to the textures.

 

 

 

 

Reserve yours today at http://grotube.byformica.com

Edited by drtrmiller, September 8 2015 - 10:03 PM.

[drtrmiller]

 

Finally, we did it!

byFormica will soon complete the first run of the NEW GroTube HS with GlassBox transition foraging area

 

 

We completed contacting all buyers of the NEW GroTube HS with GlassBox foraging area today, since we have confirmed part availability and partially assembled each GlassBox foraging area and diorama scene!  The next step is to put the finishing touches on each one and ship them all over the world!

 

Stay tuned for more photos of our gorgeous, hand-crafted landscapes and scenery, perfectly paired with the most high-tech formicarium available on the planet.