177 replies to this topic

[ctantkeeper]

Reminds me of the Chinese Bamboo tube nests, with the refillable sand hydration chamber at the back.

No issues with mold on these

 

There is a member here called Leo that uses one for his ants

 

http://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/i2/3340958150/TB257IWvMxlpuFjSszgXXcJdpXa_!!3340958150.jpg http://img.alicdn.co...!3340958150.jpg

http://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/i3/3340958150/TB2Lo0rvYVkpuFjSspcXXbSMVXa_!!3340958150.jpg http://img.alicdn.co...!3340958150.jpg

http://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/i4/3340958150/TB2jIkoXfAPyuJjy0FcXXbCzpXa_!!3340958150.jpg

I've seen pictures of these online and am really impressed with the simplicity / functionality of the design. Do you know where I might be able to purchase one?

[CoolColJ]

I've seen pictures of these online and am really impressed with the simplicity / functionality of the design. Do you know where I might be able to purchase one?

Easiest place to buy them from is Aliexpress, it's kinda like a Chinese Amazon. Pretty safe, I've bought a few things from there.

You can see them listed here. They come in various combinations, some as part of a large acrylic formicarium with 1-10 of these tubes as well.

https://www.aliexpre...bamboo ant nest


Pics from Leo's journal

https://lh6.googleus...-F7A=w1920-h912
https://lh5.googleus...JJEA=w1920-h912
https://lh6.googleus...XUj0=w1920-h912
https://lh4.googleus...HUEv=w1920-h912

Edited by CoolColJ, March 16 2018 - 3:40 PM.

[dspdrew]

http://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/i3/3340958150/TB2Lo0rvYVkpuFjSspcXXbSMVXa_!!3340958150.jpg

 

The cops here would have you face down on the pavement if they saw you with one of these.

[dspdrew]

Well it's been about 3 months since I started some other tests with the silicone and tiles. It's obvious now that something is leaching off the silicone and into the tile. I simply removed the silicone donut from the center of the tile I had it sitting on, and I think it's plain as day what has happened.
 

 
 
It didn't even take water to see that the tile was ruined.
 
I put a few drops of water spaced out from the center on out, and you can see how hydrophobic the tile is where the silicone soaked into it.
 

 
 
After about 30 minutes.
 

 

 
 
Here's what really has me confused. The tile I had stuck inside cured silicone caulking seems to have absorbed something as well. This picture was taken 30 minutes after setting the tile in a small puddle of water.
 

 
 
You can see the clean tile on the right is completely saturated with water, while the one has no water absorption past the point where the tile was stuck in the cured silicone.
 

 
 
I assumed this was caused by some chemical leaching from the addition curing silicone, but apparently not. It seems like it's any silicone.
 
This means I need to keep these tiles in these silicone donuts for as little time as possible, and the jig I had planned for making these formicariums in bulk will need to be made with a completely different material. That's going to make this thing much more difficult to make. I need something that will create a seal around the tile, but won't ruin it.

[AntsCalifornia]

Are you talking about the circle around the tile when you place it inside the formicarium? If so, can't you just 3d print it.

Edited by AntsCalifornia, April 7 2018 - 8:13 PM.

[dspdrew]

Are you talking about the circle around the tile when you place it inside the formicarium? If so, can't you just 3d print it.

 

The idea is to create a seal around the tile. You typically do this with something flexible that presses against it on its entire surface area. You don't get that with something rigid. I supposed I could try using flexible filament and 3D print one. It would need to be elastic though.

[JohnTX]

Interesting.  I had a similar problem with an idea I was working on.  I used silicon caulk to attach a bisque tile to a plastic test tube.  Worked great initially, but stopped working when I tested it a month later. 

 

The picture below (don't judge craftsmanship, it's a prototype!   ) shows the tile after I wet it from the outside and you can see a distinct dry space near the caulk.  Zero water was transferring from inside the tube.

 

 

 

For your disks, could you try a rubber or latex band around the tile as a barrier before putting in the silicon?  Or, even a 1/2 inch section of vinyl tubing that you cut the tile just right so it has to wedge into the vinyl band.  

[AntsCalifornia]

Hmm, it seems that it worked initially but then all you guys just started having problems. Could they have changed the formula recently or something?

Edited by AntsCalifornia, April 11 2018 - 5:17 PM.

[dspdrew]

Interesting.  I had a similar problem with an idea I was working on.  I used silicon caulk to attach a bisque tile to a plastic test tube.  Worked great initially, but stopped working when I tested it a month later. 

 

The picture below (don't judge craftsmanship, it's a prototype!   ) shows the tile after I wet it from the outside and you can see a distinct dry space near the caulk.  Zero water was transferring from inside the tube.

 

 

 

 

For your disks, could you try a rubber or latex band around the tile as a barrier before putting in the silicon?  Or, even a 1/2 inch section of vinyl tubing that you cut the tile just right so it has to wedge into the vinyl band.  

 

Wow that's interesting. Aren't you glad it's not a mystery anymore why your tile stopped absorbing water?   All I know now is KEEP YOUR TILES AWAY FROM SILICONE. Weirdest thing...

 

Anyway yeah, vinyl tubing is one thing I was thinking of trying.

[YsTheAnt]

Yeah, that seems... wierd. Do you think the same thing would happen to say, cotton, or hydrostone?

[T.C.]

http://img.alicdn.co...!3340958150.jpg

 
The cops here would have you face down on the pavement if they saw you with one of these.

"What the hell do you smoke out of this?"

[antnest8]

where do you put all of your extra formicariums that were not perfect or you moved on with do you sell them?

[dspdrew]

Yeah, that seems... wierd. Do you think the same thing would happen to say, cotton, or hydrostone?

 

I don't see why not.

 

 

where do you put all of your extra formicariums that were not perfect or you moved on with do you sell them?

 

I do sometimes.

[AntsCalifornia]

This design seemed to be working before. Did you use something other than silicone before?

[dspdrew]

It works fine. It's the process of making them that can be a problem, if the tiles are left in the silicone donut for too long.

[Jadeninja9]

 

 

http://img.alicdn.co...!3340958150.jpg

 
The cops here would have you face down on the pavement if they saw you with one of these.

"What the hell do you smoke out of this?"

 

Smoke formic acid maaaaaaan.

[dspdrew]

Let's try to keep this discussion limited to formicarium building.

[AntsCalifornia]

So I finally got through the entire thread. Took a while. I'm a little confused on the silicone donuts though. What do they do, and why do they have to make a seal? Also, do you put anything around the tiles to keep it separated from the resin anymore, or do you just let the resin harden around it?

[dspdrew]

I let the resin harden around the tiles. I control how much it soaks in and only allow enough to bond to it. The silicone donuts keep the resin from dripping through the hole in the container and all down the sides of the tiles.

[Mortamir]

WOW these are so nice, ready for your ants to take off. Buy one of these.

https://imgur.com/gallery/zjnHi