26 replies to this topic

[Mercutia]

[Crystals]

All that worrying about them not moving and they moved on their own with a bit of patience. 

I suspect they will move closer to the sponge as they settle in, my Formica podzolica seem to prefer it fairly humid.

[benjiwuf]

formica subsericea seem to like it extremely humid as well.

Edited by benjiwuf, January 17 2015 - 9:24 AM.

[dean_k]

In my own experience with Omni nest vertical, you need to add water to the reservoirs daily.

 

As for the paper protecting the acrylic, you should have soaked them in water for a minute. The paper just peels itself off after that.

 

The water hole is 1mm in diameter and prone to clogging, so be careful with those.

 

I've been using it for 3 and half months now with Crystal's Myrmica. It is okay despite of its flaws. The flaws are minor. Though I am looking to relocate the colony to something smaller.

[dspdrew]

There are blunt needles, and pointed ones. I don't know why he thinks a blunt needle would be all that dangerous.

 

In my own experience with Omni nest vertical, you need to add water to the reservoirs daily.

Whoa.. no thanks.

[dean_k]

The blue foam doesn't hold that much water and any excessive water leaks through the cracks. It would totally depend on which species is living in there but to keep consistent humidity. probably daily dose of watering is needed. If not at least once every 2 days.

[Miles]

 

In my own experience with Omni nest vertical, you need to add water to the reservoirs daily.

Whoa.. no thanks.

 

 

My reaction as well.

[Mercutia]

Yes, I'm finding that it does need to be watered frequently however I've also added a water feeder to the outworld (Crystals' version) so that they don't dry out. I've noticed that if I overwater it, it does leak from the bottom so I'll have to include that in my long term review. Mikey is coming up with new products though to battle having to water his nests so frequently which is nice to see though I wonder why he is so far behind. Many North American formicarium sellers already have solutions to that problem, even THA has their water towers to minimize watering frequency.

 

Also something I didn't mention is that because his formicarium isn't sealed, there is a great deal of breathability in the nest. This allows ample ventilation. I've had an instance where I had created a sealed ytong nest that killed a Formica colony because they weren't getting enough circulation of oxygen because of my poor designing. I hadn't realize this was the reason for the deaths until much later on. So I'm happy to have these Formica sitting in here knowing there is ample ventilation.

 

And thanks Dean! But I totally didn't think of that at the time and just enlisted the help of my boyfriend. I cracked the whip on him "WORK FASTER D<". Hahaha.

[dean_k]

Aw, the poor dude

 

Anyway, yes, it has very good A+ ventilation which is probably why it needs to be watered frequently. Nothing has molded inside of my nest except for traces of blue 100 that got stuck between the tiny cracks.

[drtrmiller]

Indeed, the absence of a water reservoir for the sponge is a terrible design choice.  The moment the sponge reaches 100% saturation, it starts becoming depleted.

 

Funny, I don't own an AC product, but I was just speculating as to the "breathability" Mercutia mentioned in another thread, wherein DeanK's ant larvae were drying up.  This is an issue with unsealed, multi-layer nests in general.

 

I've got my work cut out for me on my forthcoming nest, which features multiple, unsealed layers, as well.  It will be an interesting challenge to be able to optimize and strike a balance between ventilation, which is necessary for the prevention of mold, and achieving a higher relative humidity inside the nest, which is necessary for the well-being of most ants.  

 

These two attributes (ventilation vs. relative humidity) are in conflict with one another in every formicarium design.  It's good that the antkeeping community is finally understanding and articulating the root cause of many problems of formicarium design, so those making the products may be forced to study and innovate new solutions to overcome them.

Edited by drtrmiller, January 17 2015 - 11:09 AM.

[Mercutia]

I imagine this is not too big an issue with larger colonies as they produce a lot of their own moisture within a nest. That's another problem with having too small a colony in too big a formicarium. I suppose I will have to wait until the Formica produce brood this year to say anything definitive on the subject.

[dean_k]

A DIY solution could be adding sand, or some other substrate, to the nest.

[Mercutia]

I've seen someone do this and the smaller particles of sand fall through the gaps. It wasn't attractive. I had thought about putting coconut fiber in it but I got too excited and forgot. Lol.

[dspdrew]

These two attributes (ventilation vs. relative humidity) are in conflict with one another in every formicarium design.

Always been one of the biggest problems. This means lots of water is needed, which is why I think a water tank is a must.

[Miles]

A DIY solution could be adding sand, or some other substrate, to the nest.

The problem being that since this is acrylic, it will get scratched by sand or other rough materials.

[Gregory2455]

Haha, people hate hydrating nests daily. That is why Drew's hydration systems are so cool.

[Miles]

Haha, people hate hydrating nests daily. That is why Drew's hydration systems are so cool.

It's always been an issue for me. My parents are divorced, and I have all of my ants at my dad's house. My ants have to go for a week without my care, a week with, and so on. THA nests have always performed well in regard to staying moist. My own (failed) nests have often dried out too much.

Edited by Miles, January 17 2015 - 1:27 PM.

[Gregory2455]

Have you seen the water resivoirs Drew has been making?

[Miles]

Have you seen the water resivoirs Drew has been making?

Have I? Yes. I haven't seen any threads where all of his components are working properly, though? 

 

I have been watching to see how his efforts go, as reservoirs would be helpful in my situation.

Edited by Miles, January 17 2015 - 2:04 PM.

[drtrmiller]

Have you seen the water resivoirs [sic] Drew has been making?

 

I'm not convinced a liter, gallon, or other large-sized reservoir is necessary for most people.  The larger reservoir seems to be overcompensating for other problems.  Where is that much water going, in the first place?

 

There must be balance.