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Post by sandeel on Mar 8, 2012 13:20:22 GMT
(NOTE - keep reading, plaster is no longer used....also I would like comments posted in this thread, thanks) Started this a week ago. I acquired a 17L fish tank and bought 2kg of dental grade 3 plaster which is extremely hard. The plaster can take the weight of 700kg/cm3 so won't be falling apart for many years. First thing was to lube up the inside of the tank with veg oil and cover it with cling film so when the plaster is set, it will just slide out without breaking the glass. Also added plasticine for the cavities.  Poured in roughly 7L of plaster...  Put a 3L milk bottle in for a deep area to fill with sand and a 2w water proof heater will be buried in there.  Left to dry until slightly soft then bottle could be taken out without the plaster collapsing or the bottle getting dried in.  2W heater....  Remember this uses electricity not helpless people or infants to power it!  |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 8, 2012 15:17:52 GMT
Hi Sandeel and welcome to the Ant Hill World forum.  I presume you want this to be a journal, so if you prefer that members don't post on it please feel free to make a comments thread in the journal comments sub-board.  Great to see you've posted photos of your project, as it is always nice to see how the ideas of something like this work out, so I will definitely follow your progress.  |
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Post by sandeel on Mar 8, 2012 16:31:56 GMT
Cheers, I would actually like it if people did comment in here with comments and suggestions as others could learn from this thread as well potentially.
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Post by sandeel on Mar 10, 2012 15:53:59 GMT
The whole nest came out with out any problems at all.  also my queen arrived...  Put sand in a tupperwear tub, placed the 2w heater under it and put the test tube in the sand and covered it with a towel. I haven't got a thermometer yet but have ordered a thermostat/thermometer so I put the heater on during the day and off at night, probably more natural this way. |
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Post by antique on Mar 10, 2012 18:05:59 GMT
Does she have any eggs?  |
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Post by IceWhyte on Mar 10, 2012 20:26:26 GMT
Does she have any eggs? Look what is in her mouth. |
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Post by sandeel on Apr 3, 2012 15:18:47 GMT
Ok, my queen snuffed it even though it was left alone...who knows.
I've ordered another messor with 5-10 workers this time and should be here in 2 weeks maybe.
Also the plaster kept cracking and when repaired cracked again so gave up on that...don't think I used enough plaster in the mix and dental grade stuff is expensive.
I have now ordered a big ytong block which I will cut in half and use both sides...carve out the tunnels my self and fill the remaining void with argos £2.99 for 15kg of clean/washed play sand.
Good day.
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Post by sandeel on Apr 12, 2012 17:16:43 GMT
Ytong block, red acetate, grass seeds and tubing arrived...  No parafin oil in the box though :/ |
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Post by sandeel on Apr 15, 2012 22:27:43 GMT
Parafin oil was there covered in bubble wrap oops.  New queen and 5 workers... Got a Lucky Reptile Thermocontrol pro 2 and tested it, works nice.  Carved out the ytong block with a drill...  Notice the entrance at the back so there is a nice gentle slope going in...  In their new home for now...  ...and attached forage area. Thermostat is set to 20c at night (8pm to 8am) and I will work up to 28c for during the day over several days (obviously 8am to 8pm).  Heater is under the sand, forward and to the side of the test tube and temperature probe is under the test tube. The sand seems to act like a storage heater and gently heats evenly and keeps the heat in, so heater is probably only heating for 2 hours a day. Made a box to go over the "living" area.  Nice. |
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Post by Welsh Ant on Apr 17, 2012 8:35:17 GMT
I would keep the sand in the foraging bit dry so the ants don't dig a nest in it, and that way they should move up the tube into your set up. Nice photos, I hope they do well and make a big colony for you. |
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Post by sandeel on Apr 18, 2012 23:22:40 GMT
Cheers, the sand in the "living quarters" is pretty dry and there isn't any sand in the main forage area to make it easier to take out the rubbish they will hopefully leave there....when they actually discover it. The thermostat probe is now measuring air temp instead of sand temp and now set to 8am - 11pm daytime setting as the temperature was struggling to get above 23c so they would have better heat for longer but still 20-21c for night...  I added aluminium foil to the underside of the "dark box" to reflect heat, which worked very well as I'm getting about 2.5c increase so running 25-26c during the day.  Painted it brown...  3 sizes of nest for in the tank (^ smallest for first introducing to nest) sand fell in a bit but oh well.  On the left is the (medium) one with the side of the large showing on the right.  (large) The entrance for this will be unblocked last when the colony is big enough...they each have their own entrance.  Pipe to moisten queen area...  Lid is a bit opaque with millions of tiny scratches, maybe car polish will smooth it out? |
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Post by sandeel on Apr 18, 2012 23:31:02 GMT
Oh yeah, the heater will be buried in the middle bit with sand when its time to move the colony out the 2 plastic tubs. The top will be covered in nice yellow sand and maybe some of the ytong not covered by sand so I can put food there and it will be easier to clean when they deposit their rubbish back.
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Post by Jenny on Apr 19, 2012 6:52:02 GMT
You might need to let the colony size increase prior to letting them escape into such a large set up |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 19, 2012 7:57:29 GMT
As long as the nocturnal temperature doesn't drop any lower than 17 Celsius, then Messor barbs are fine. A steady temp of 21C. to about a max of 27C. is ideal, as the hotter it gets the more active the ants will be; and that means the more food they will want. With temperatures in the lower 70's Fahrenheit, the colony will grow at a steady rate and remain nice and healthy without being hyperactive. |
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Post by sandeel on Apr 19, 2012 14:54:31 GMT
Yeah will be probably 100 workers when I move them to the ytong set up.
Temp never goes below 20c now so should be good then.
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