237 replies to this topic

[Mathiacus]

This is a very good thread drew. I am looking forward to the final version. I think you will do great things.

[dspdrew]

Thanks man.

[Chromerust]

Looks awesome!


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[AntsAreUs]

Very nice design Drew! Chromerust are you new here?

[Gregory2455]

You finally moved them in! It looks great.

[dspdrew]

Well they're not moved in yet. I'm letting them decide to move in when they want. Right now, they're still nesting in the dry test tube. :hmm:

[dspdrew]

They finally moved in, but after about a day, I started finding dead and dying workers in the out world. After I was finding more and more, I quickly took everything apart and moved them back into a test tube until I could figure out exactly what was killing them. I had never even found one dead worker in their colony before, so it was definitely something in the formicarium. Everything material I used, I had used before, except for the Plasti Dip in larger amounts. After some testing, I found out it was without a doubt the Plasti Dip that was killing them. Even though it was dry, the smell was still very strong, and obviously very toxic to them.
 
I removed the Ytong block with the Plasti Dip coating, and replaced it with a new one coated in silicone instead. After the deaths mostly came to a stop, I moved them back in, and so far they seem to be doing just fine.
 

[Chromerust]

Very nice design Drew! Chromerust are you new here?

No I'm not new, I just don't have much to say most the time lol

[dspdrew]

I finished the third prototype. I cut the front off the lid used for the water tank tray this time, making it easier to slide in and up against the Ytong.
 

 
 
I made some changes to the water tank. The mouth is now on the front, so nothing pours out while filling it.
 

 

 
 
This time I added a little plastic tray to the out world to put food on. That should be easier to clean off than the Hydrostone bottom.
 

 
 
I painted this one black. It has the odd colored black and white nest in it, so it kind of matches.
 

 
 
Here it is after moving my Camponotus semitestaceus colony into it. It's funny they moved the queen and all the brood into one of the smallest chambers.
 

[dean_k]

Those are BIG ants.

[nepenthes]

*didn't see there were 5 pages lol*

Do you plane the surface of your Ytong? (make it flat) Or do you, instead, use a shop saw of sorts?

I love the design!

Edited by nepenthes, November 18 2014 - 10:51 AM.

[Gregory2455]

*didn't see there were 5 pages lol*

Do you plane the surface of your Ytong? (make it flat) Or do you, instead, use a shop saw of sorts?

I love the design!

!!! You are back!

[dspdrew]

*Didnt see there were 5 pages lol*

Do you plane the surface of your Ytong? (make it flat) Or do you, instead, use a shop saw of sorts?

I love the design!

Wow it's been a while since I've seen you here.

 

Yeah, I have covered everything in great detail.

 

I have a micro table saw I use to cut perfectly square pieces of Ytong, and then the side that goes up against the acrylic I sand down as flat as possible.

[dspdrew]

Problem!

 

Okay, my Veromessor pergandei have managed to chew into the Ytong, and are probably about halfway through already. Obviously MANY formicariums are made form Ytong, so this is probably not a common problem. I have heard of Messor and a few other species being able to chew through Ytong, but I always thought it was the much larger species. V. pergandei are more of a medium-sized ant. I have had my Pogonomyrmex in their formicarium for a long time now, and I don't see any signs of them chewing through anything.

 

I don't want to design a formicarium that works well for some ants, I want one that will work for nearly all ants. This means I am going to have to solve this problem. I will say, I never really liked having to use Ytong in the first place, but it was fairly mold resistant, and absorbed the water perfectly. Ytong is not cheap, and it's very fragile. I'm still not sure how easy it will be to clean either.

 

I think what I will do is attach some stainless steel mesh to the back of one of the chamber extension plates, and find something soft and absorbent to put behind it. Something like a sponge or some sort of foam. Maybe something like this floral foam (http://www.michaels....n/10350538.html) will work alright (edit: you absolutely do not want to mess with that stuff), although a sponge would probably be a lot easier to clean and reuse.

[drtrmiller]

Use a thin acrylic backplate with many tiny holes or slits arranged where you want humidity concentrated, and PVA sponge behind this, where your water reservoir is located.

[Tpro4]

Drew, when you start selling these tell me. These make mine look ghetto

[Gregory2455]

Tpro, what are yours made of?

[dspdrew]

Drew, when you start selling these tell me. These make mine look ghetto

Haha, will do.

[Tpro4]

Tpro, what are yours made of?

Straws, plastic containers from school lunch, and bead cases

[Gregory2455]

Straws? No grout or plaster?