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Hey Adam, I've started my build now :) and I just saved myself a pm to you. Was about to ask what size tubes you used I was gonna go 15 or 16 ID with hopefully 18OD the the tube to connect that. Look forward to the update and thanks for you help :)
Mark
I ordered 20\14 in the end - that should be enough space to let then through.
I also ordered one large (16cm) sphere and 5 smaller (12cm) spheres. I've also ordered some acrylic cement so the joins should look nice and clean, plus the they will be strong enough to take the weight of having the spheres raised.
Could I ask how you cut a hole in the spheres Adam? :?
I was thinking of making a hole, pushing the tube in and marking the curve of the sphere on the tube so I can cut it - resulting it a nice fit between the two.
Hi Mark, we should both start threads once the build is under way - looks like Adam has inspired a few :P
Lol I will just really really nervous now, I drilled my spheres and have the basic set up complete just need to get the tubes and glue the lot together then check heat and humidity differences, it's set at 25'c now and 90% humidity but that's just one sphere having 3 and a foraging area is surely going to change that. Hoping to have it finished by the end of the month to try and get the ants in september to get a good fungus for winter. But after reading a few journals on here I'm worried about killing them and just failing.
Although my wife is now pleased she has a nice selection of roses in the conservatory and brambles in the back yard lol never knew I could be a gardener!
Hey guys . glad I've inspired a few :D The holes were simple to cut , first the acrylic collars for connecting the tubes together were cut at a angle to make attaching to the curved sphere easier. Once cut I used a hot glue gun to attached them to the sphere. Once dried a few seconds later ( the glue takes seconds to cool down and harden :grin: ) I then used a pair of heat resistant gloves and a small thin flat ended screwdriver, I then put the flat end over a flame until hot and on the inside of the sphere slowly melted a thin circular cut around the inside diameter of the tube.
Ahhhhh that explains a lot I thought you used a hole saw! I found it hard to drill a 4mm hole for the thermostat.
MadIan I have gone for 12cm spheres they had no 8cm in stock lol just got the 5 for now my shelf can fit 7 on there and if they do succeed I can add another shelf above and just use big tubs as I want the spheres and foraging area to be the main thing seen.
Adam you said you took the plaster out of your spheres due to mold is there anything else I could use to regulate humidity?
Same here, I couldn't find the 8cm so have 5 12cm and 1 16cm. I'm going to make it vertical, so the large ball in the middle with the smaller ones above\below it.
I think I will cut a rough hole and use some files to get the hole spot on.
Ha ha no , the acrylic spheres would be at risk of cracking using a hole saw :cry:
As long as the air holes are all sealed up in the sphere when the fungus garden is added and you provide a little bowl of substrate the ants will narrow the openings and control the humidity themselves. The trick is to give the fungus room to grow but not putting it in a overly large sphere to begin with.
Try giving them the freshest newest leaves on the plants as these contain the highest amount of moisture and will help keep the humidity up :D
Checked my colony this morning to find the 8th sphere to contain a tiny fungus garden about the size of a pea :grin: , as soon as this is half filling the sphere I will have to put on another two :P
I too shall increase the next few spheres for a larger size. I want to experiment with raising alates in the future so will need the room for there pupae :twisted:
Hmm, there are no holes in my spheres?
Wow, good luck, has that ever happened in captivity? The colony will be the size of your house!
I used a 1mm drill to drill the top only put 7 in there and I haven't drilled the one I want the fungus to start life in. These are just tests to see if I'm heading in the right direction. I was thinking of adding a test tube filled with water and cotton wool to the connecting tube structure to add the humidity and place the fungus in the sphere then just let the ants do the rest, will it hurt if its just on plastic?
My local garden centre has a colony that's now 8 years old and it has started producing winged alates, the workers just kill them though :( I understand its virtually impossible to replicate the conditions needed to get them to mate.