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Hi, I am new to ants keeping. I need some advice on setting up the formicarium, especially using those from the Antstore.
I know that one way to set up a typical formicarium is to put some clay cermaics at the bottom, before putting sand/loam on top. A tube is inserted right to the bottom where water is poured and flooded the ceramics. The idea is to soak the ceramic wet, which in turn moist the sand/loam in top and thus keeping the ants happy.
The question is what is the best way to set up such configuration using the glass farm basin from the Antstore? The glass farm basin consists of a partition slot (where the nest is) and farm area (for foraging). There is a small gap at the bottom of the slot.
So does it mean that I have to put a layer of ceramic clays both in the narrow slot and the farm area? Can I seal the bottom gap and just put a layer of ceramic clay in the narrow slot only where the nest is suppose to be?
Does any one know what is the small gap for?
Thanks in advance.
You don't want the basin to be moist as well as the farm area (assuming you put sand/sand-loam mix in the basin area too), as the ants will likely nest in the basin then instead.
Personally I'd just put some clay at the bottom of the nest area to the height of about 1 inch or so - and let the clay "block the gap at the bottom" itself. And use the tube method described by many people - get a straw or tube of some kind, plug the bottom with some cotton wool, and keep the top plugged with cotton wool except when putting water down it (then just remove the temporary plug, put water down with a pipette, and put the plug back in). Make the bottom of the straw be resting directly on to the clay - the aim is to get the water soaking in to the clay, as the clay will soak up the water (preventing you from 'flooding' the bottom with water), and the water will soak up in to the nest.
Don't put clay at the bottom of the basin area (doesn't matter if a little bit has 'tumbled out' from the gap under the nest area in to the basin, but try minimise it), you don't want the ants to find the basin to be a nice place to nest :P
Thanks for your instructions, Azzer. This is really helpful.
From the Antstore I notice it offers different kinds of clays: seramis, perlite, bentonite, etc. How does one differ from another and which one to use as a bedding ground for my formicarium?
For the nest area, you will just want this;
http://www.antstore.net/shop/product_info.php/info/p60_Seramis-granulate-200g.html
(the "Seramis" 200g bag). If you were doing your whole basin (eg, you just wanted your ants to nest and live in the basin), you'd get the 1000g bag of that to cover the bottom (or more, depending how big your basin was). Seramis is "ceramic" - baked clay - they are hard (like teracotta pots), and in those bags it's just like a lot of small red stones, but they are pourous and retain water well.
If you were going for an "all white" decoration, for example had white sand, white loam, white stones on top, you could get the Perlite - Perlite is a type of volcanic "glass" (of sorts), but it has good water retention like clay does.
Bentonite is just another type of clay. I think it might be a soft kind of clay. Again just a type of water retention. I'm not entirely sure why you would get this over the other kinds, and I am not 100% on it being "soft". Maybe somebody else knows more about this one.
Hope all that info helps!
I think Azzer helped you allot, if you still have questions just ask them.
Happy ant keeping. ;)
I shall revive this topic. I just realised my ant farm is ridiculously dry. I don't use clay just a test tube to the bottom and a cotton as a plug at the bottom, but just realised this wasn;t keeping the place wet at all. The leve in the test tube goes down due to evaporation. So i ordered new sand/loam and clay ceramis.
I know how to do this but here's the question i searched through the forums and it seems there is a missleading information. Half the threads say you put a cotton at the bottom where it goes into the clay ceramis and half say you don't.
So let's solve the mystery forever: Do you or do you not put a cotton wool at the bottom of your tube. The end that goes all the way to the ceramis clay and do you rest it on top of the clay just at the top of it or do you dig it in the clay?
Think those 2 questions will help a lot of people figure how to do it properly :)
No cotton dig it in the clay, thats how I do and for me it works well :)
in deed, put it a little bit into the clay, no cotton, than you have the change it will mould after a wile.
jimmy did you say the cotton will go mouldy?, are you sure?.....oh bugga i followed the threads ive read on here and placed cotton wool @ the bottom of it.
Why doesnt the cotton wool in the test tubes i keep my nigers in go mouldy? Theres obviously water on one side and air, ants and eggs on the other, is this due to the mild circulation of air off the movement from the ants, mind you the end of the tube also has cotton wool, so there cannot be that much circulation of air.
ive only experienced mould off a cricket/fly thats been left in too long, ive put this down to theses being organic.
Does the mould form on the cotton due to dampness both sides of it and no air movement. I recon if the cottons underwater then mould cant form.
I NEED ANSWERS!!! :lol:
Damp + Warm = Mould. Mould will form on the bottom of the cotton wool instead of in top.
Lets go to a diagram!
In the image below we have an example of a water tube that may be in your nest. The cotton wool has water sitting on top of it ant leaking thought to moisten the ground, thus meaning the top of the wool will be fully submerged stopping most moulds from forming, however, the botton of the wool is still exposed to all mould types.
If you want to make it so that if your ants get down that deep they wont be able to climb up the tube from the bottom you can get a non-toxic balloon and fasten it to the bottom with an elastic band, you can then put a few small holes in it for water to drain.
The water will slowly drip through and mould is very unlikely to form.
Regards.