ANTSTORE World of Ants

von **Matt_LFC** » 10. Apr 2011 17:31

Hi guys, been a while since i posted on here but i thought i would see what you guys thought of my idea.

Sorry for the brief sketch but its just a plan at the moment while i get a few quotes

As i found out last year the hardest thing about ants for me anyway is keeping them in the damn tank so i have come up with this to solve that problem. Yes i did take a few ideas from other basins i had seen. Well anyway it will be made of 2 tanks with water in between them to stop them escaping and to keep the sand/soil damp which is where the 2 holes come in which will have some kind of plastic behind them with tiny holes so the water will only trickle very slowly to just dampen then soil.

I only have 2 concerns. First being the strength of the inner tank, will probably need thick glass and the second being the water would go horrible eventually so would need some kind of suction device to replace it every so often.

Anyway i would love to hear your thoughts.

I will also probably make the inner tank a bit bigger as theres no need for 5inches of a water gap.

Bild

von **SteveUK28** » 11. Apr 2011 10:24

Its obviously been done before but perhaps not with such big tanks.. How would you connect a foraging area? or perhaps allow for another tank when the ants outgrow this one? If you can overcome those 2.. you can buy small pumps with a filter for the water so you would not have to change it.. you could then perhaps even add plants .. a kind aquarium with ants inside

von **Matt_LFC** » 12. Apr 2011 20:43

Thanks for your comment, i would not connect another tank for foraging because the tank is big which is why i made it big so i wouldn't have too. If the ants out grow it then thats there problem lol There just wouldn't be a way of connecting another tank without compromising there ability to escape, if anyone has an idea i would love to hear it. Some kind of tube, maybe but they would just walk on the outside of it and could easily fall off it and escape.

von **SteveUK28** » 13. Apr 2011 09:44

Perhaps getting a glazer to drill holes through both tanks... then putting a tude through them.. of course you would need to use sealant so the water never escaped.. and you could put a cotton bung in the end untill a new tank is required...

von **Matt_LFC** » 13. Apr 2011 10:43

Hmmm maybe sounds a good idea. It would be like some sort of underwater kingdom for ants lol Might as well put some fish around the outside which would scare the ants going through the underwater tube.

Steve what species of ant would you recommend i used? I want something interesting but don't need to be heated with a lamp etc.

von **SteveUK28** » 13. Apr 2011 17:14

Depends what you want i think.. Cant beat Myrmica rubra, great ants i think.. just got myself a new colony of them now cheapish off ebay lol

Apart from them your pretty much good with any UK ants, and some of the euro ones too..

von **Matt_LFC** » 13. Apr 2011 21:38

Anything special i need to keep Myrmica rubra and you have any advice for keeping them

? I have quite a bit of bog wood if they would like that i can bury it in the sand if they even like sand and loam.

von **Matt_LFC** » 14. Apr 2011 17:47

Here is an updated design, Steve if you wouldnt mind moving it to the original post. Thanks

Bild

It will hopefully be getting made in the a few weeks to a month when i will update this thread. If anyone has any rubra for sale please let me know

von **Matt_LFC** » 19. Mai 2011 19:12

Here is an update, as you can probably tell i have changed a lot of things but that was to keep the cost down. Just done the inner tank, will complete the outta tank in a few days then i will be testing for water leaks.

Feedback is welcome...