53 replies to this topic

[SoySauce]

Do you have an e-commerce website? I prefer to support your efforts fully rather than for Amazon to take such a big chunk out.

[T.C.]

I can honestly say, I was more so impressed by this product. I personally don't have the time or patience to move my ants from one test tube to another. If this product can prevent mold growth i'm all for it. I don't need to know what the ingredients are, or how it's made. Water is free, but does not prevent molding. This product claims to do just that, so I will entertain the idea. Whether Terry is able to make these for 10 bucks or 2 cents, it wouldn't affect my decision to buy or not. He came out with a great idea, that no one else has. It took alot of knowledge and time I'm sure. So that is really all I need to know when I buy.

Edited by T.C., April 1 2017 - 2:39 PM.

[FSTP]

I don't see this as too expensive I see it as a specialty boutique item that only a select few will use, and those that can't or won't purchase are likely not the target demo anyway.

 

I'll be trying some, I like the idea of keeping TT water clean, it can get pretty foul pretty quick sometimes. 

 

 

I will say the color reminds me of the liquid I see on tampon commercials. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, I believe they originally chose that color because it looks clean.

Edited by FSTP, April 1 2017 - 2:46 PM.

[Serafine]

Still not entirely sure if this is just an april's fool...

I will say the color reminds me of the liquid I see on tampon commercials. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, I believe they originally chose that color because it looks clean.

It looks like that blue stuff they use in portable dixi toilets. But then blue is the color that universally stands for "clean and fresh liquid stuff".

[Vanko]

Honestly I concider this product for an unnecessary, but for some people it could be a good idea to buy. Let us leave this guy and stop hating this item! It is pointless. Japanese could make money by selling diet water or fresh air in bottle, then why he can't sell antimold water?

[Antking117]

So if i buy this, pour it into my test tubes before i use them (as water) and give them to my ants. It should (and will?) make it through until they leave the test tubes? (guaranteed? or most likely?)

Edited by antking117, April 1 2017 - 8:39 PM.

[drtrmiller]

So if i buy this, pour it into my test tubes before i use them (as water) and give them to my ants. It should (and will?) make it through until they leave the test tubes? (guaranteed? or most likely?)

 

It is guaranteed that the Formisazine will not grow cloudy with mold or bacteria, and that the wet cotton will also be less susceptible to mold, wherever the Formisazine has impregnated it.  Ants may drink the Formisazine just as they would regular water.

[Antking117]

 

So if i buy this, pour it into my test tubes before i use them (as water) and give them to my ants. It should (and will?) make it through until they leave the test tubes? (guaranteed? or most likely?)

 

It is guaranteed that the Formisazine will not grow cloudy with mold or bacteria, and that the wet cotton will also be less susceptible to mold, wherever the Formisazine has impregnated it.  Ants may drink the Formisazine just as they would regular water.

 

What makes it better than normal water? What does it have the distilled doesn't? sorry for so many questions! First year ant keeper here and REALLY want my queens to survive this year, so anything that could help will be in there helping

[drtrmiller]

Formisazine is precisely formulated with food-safe, ant-safe preservatives to prevent molds and bacteria from growing in the water supply or in impregnated media like cotton and sponge.  Foul water can be harmful to ants, as some bacteria or other organisms may produce waste products that can kill the ants, and deter the ants from drinking the water.  What's worse, is when ants must be relocated from a foul tube to a clean test tube.  The ants must be subjected to a great deal of stress to force the relocation, which increases the possible risks of injury.

 

Distilled water is not special.  The impurities present in groundwater are removed through the distillation process.  There is nothing in distilled water to prevent or retard the growth of any microorganism, such as fungi and bacteria.  Fungi and bacteria absolutely thrive in moist environments, and so any contamination, especially combined with food supplied in the form of ant waste and other particulates brought in by the ants, may result in test tubes that look like the following:

 

 

 

Edited by drtrmiller, April 1 2017 - 9:31 PM.

[Antking117]

AHA, so friday is payday, and ill be getting one (when will they become available in a much larger size? or can i get a bundle? )

[Serafine]

We clearly need larger sizes - isn't there a huge tank version of Sunburst (2l or so)? That would be perfect.

 

Also did you go into the idea of shipping this as a powder* to reduce transport costs?

 

*Like, the powder is already in the bottle/tank and you just have to add bi-distilled water to a mark on the bottle to make it fluid - there's pancake tubes where you just have to add milk and shake them to get a ready-to-use paste, this could work perfectly here and the big fast food chains ship coke that way. That would dramatically decrease the product's weight.

[drtrmiller]

Yes, I did consider a powder or concentrate version.  I worried that people may not measure the product properly, and have a poor user experience, no matter how easy it is.

 

Further, I'm not entirely sure that selling powder in a bottle would reduce my transport costs, because couriers go by dimensional weight now, and the calculation method for international shipments is not favorable to those types of bulky but light shipments.

 

Part of the byFormica philosophy that I've been developing as my business matures, is to offer convenience products that are very easy to use, solve a particular problem, and may be manufactured and shipped to Amazon for fulfillment.

 

Formisazine in a ready-to-use bottle ticks all those marks.  The ingredients are sourced, mixed in predetermined amounts, quality tested (TDS, pH, microbiological, etc.), filled by hand with filling equipment, an induction seal is added for quality, caps and labels are hand-applied, and the product is then ready for the customer, quality guaranteed.  A powder or concentrate version wouldn't be any less work for me, and would be more work for the customer, even if I provided a bottle with a fill line, as you suggest.

 

The only way the product could be made more cheaply is if I were to work with a contract manufacturer and have tons of bottles (they would probably want me to have thousands) made by them.  The per-unit cost would be about the same, but the labor would be much less.

Edited by drtrmiller, April 2 2017 - 2:30 AM.

[Serafine]

Well, you could sell a pro version powder for experienced users with a measurement spoon* and exact instructions how to mix it. I've had some food supplements that worked that way and it's really not hard to do.
In the end it'll mean less costs for everyone because transport costs would be greatly reduced (especially to far-off places like Europe, Asia and Australia).


*like these

[drtrmiller]

Well, you could sell a pro version powder for experienced users with a measurement spoon* and exact instructions how to mix it. I've had some food supplements that worked that way and it's really not hard to do.

 

Maybe...

[FSTP]

But non "pro" people are liable to buy a "pro" product.

[Alabama Anter]

Formisazine®,
The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine for ants. Ask your Myrmecologist if Formisazine® is right for you.


Warning, side effects may include: hallucinations, sexual addiction (to you for the ants), decrease in semen, nasal sores, fungal infection, unequivocal repudiation, tumors benign and otherwise, constipation, diarrhea, night terrors, existential despair, imbalanced electrons, vomiting, thorax sores. If your antennae remain erect for more than 4 hours after taking Formisazine®seek immediate medical attention.

Lmao

[dspdrew]

 

Formisazine®,
The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine for ants. Ask your Myrmecologist if Formisazine® is right for you.


Warning, side effects may include: hallucinations, sexual addiction (to you for the ants), decrease in semen, nasal sores, fungal infection, unequivocal repudiation, tumors benign and otherwise, constipation, diarrhea, night terrors, existential despair, imbalanced electrons, vomiting, thorax sores. If your antennae remain erect for more than 4 hours after taking Formisazine®seek immediate medical attention.

Lmao

 

 

Haha, I must have missed that post.

 

unequivocal repudiation rofl

[Loops117]

So far all the ants i have tested this with have 0 issues.

Here's a photo of one of the colonies i started a switch with last night. They had moved to the new tube by this morning when i checked on them.

 

[thosaka]

Germans, germans are damn too smart for me. I was trying to figure out a way to reduce the cost for the seller and buyer, and I just couldn't figure it out, until Serafine came up with selling the powder and letting us mix it with water. Either way, I like your product Miller, and your name will be recorded in the history books.

Edited by Tagassi, April 4 2017 - 11:37 AM.

[drtrmiller]

Formisazine is now available to Amazon Prime customers via the link below:
http://amzn.to/2o6Oarw

Do you have an e-commerce website? I prefer to support your efforts fully rather than for Amazon to take such a big chunk out.

Member Loops117, who owns 117 Colonies, is becoming established as a US distributor for byFormica products.