ANTSTORE World of Ants

[nortino]

I know this has been asked before, but the other threads left me with some doubts so I wanted to be clear. Is this more or less how people set up their nests, i.e. with a seramis layer at the bottom to keep the sand moist?:



A few questions:

1) Should I have the cotton wool at the bottom of the tube, or just have the tube go straight into the clay granules? Will the cotton go mouldy?

2) How far into the clay should the tube go? In the picture it stops on the far left, will the whole clay get moisture from this? Would it be better to have the tube continue horizontally through to the middle of the clay?

3) In the picture I have the water half way up the tube. Is this right? Should the tube normally have water in it? Or should I just add water until it soaks into the clay and then leave the tube empty?

4) How do I know when I've added enough water? Should I just add enough so that the clay looks moist, or should I be able to see a water line in the clay section?

Any help appreciated. Thanks chaps.

[Varban]

Hi Nortino

Yes your setup is correct this is how ppl have set it up. To answer your questions

1: Yes, the cotton wool will spread the water out and it won't leak out completly when the water level reaches the sand. It's all about pressure really I won't go in details but you should have the cotton at the bottom. It won't get mouldy.

2: You can leave the the tube on the far left as you have. Again normal physics apply water level will start rising when the water reaches the right end of the ant farm. In general this will mean the left side with more moist than the right which is ideal for ants so they can pick if they want it too wet or a little dry.

3: The tube should have water in. Fill it to the top and plug it with a cotton wool so ants dont fall inside. Basically it acts as a reservoir for water fluctuations in the clay. Water evaporates and the lost water will come from the test tube. Top it up if goes down too much.

4: When the water in the test tube stops being absorbed completly. If the clay is soaked the tube will stay full until the clay dries a bit. I've explained the basics in question 3

Anything else? Fire at will

[nortino]

Thanks Varban, that's very helpful

[JimmyVe]

Very nice picture Nortino. Perfect and very helpful for other users. I Think Varban gives you al the help you needed.
Happy ant keeping.