ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Peenmeister]

Hi all, first post here,

I'm currently building a nice home for a Polyrhachis dives colony. It's going to be 70*55*55cm. I've ordered the glass and some materials from Antstore. Have been reading about these ants for a few weeks now and think I am ready to start a colony. However since you have a little more experience, maybe you guys have some feedback about my planned setup.
The plan is to make an island of 60*45 cm with some branches and life plants in it. Is it wise to start of in a larger tank or would it be better to limit their space in the beginning? I could also choose to make 2 islands and use only one at first.
Heating will be done with a 40W ceramic heater. I have an airpump which I could use to keep the soil from becoming smelly and moldy, and 2 fans for ventilation. Is this needed for the climate?
Also is an island needed if I would use PTFE fluid, or will that be sufficient to keep them from escaping? I just like the look of an island setup so I think I will go for that anyway. I also am wondering whether or not it is needed to provide a small shelter first before they can expand to larger area's? Or is just an island with surrounding water enough?

[SteveUK28]

Hello Peenmeister and to the forum, Im sorry but i dont have enough experience with these ants to answer all your questions. However i do know that they will make a pretty nasty mess of the water so if you are using an island i would imagine a good pump and filter for the water will be needed.

I would go for a large setup myself probabily not an island as it requires to much work... if you do a search here you should find a nice lot of information... more than enough to help you out.

Anyways Good luck with it all and keep us posted.

[Peenmeister]

Thanks for the reaction about the island Steve, will definately consider that. Will keep browsing the forum for any info I missed, but I think I pretty much read all the topics about this specific species. I hope I'm not annoying the crap out of everyone by asking all these questions . Anyway, won't be buying the ants until I'm certain everything looks perfect and the climate is under control, and until I get some more input from you guys during the build .
I will definately keep this topic alive during the process, and will post pictures as soon as I make some progress.

[JimmyVe]

Hello Peenmeister and .

You could go for the large setup, these ants grow very fast so i don't think that would be a problem.
If you use PTFE you don't need the island setup. Couldn't harm if you have more than one thing to prevent them from escaping.
Its nice to hear that you first build the setup and test it before you put the ants in there. (most people buy the ants first and than wonder how to keep them )

Good luck and if you have other questions feel free to ask.

[Peenmeister]

Was initially planning on buying the ants right away, but since this is quite a build and pretty expensive, why not spend the extra 20 euro on shipping the ants seperately right.

I think I'll use the PTFE without island, just have to figure out how to lead the wires and tubes out without that being an escape-route, so thats my first challenge I think. Can anyone with experience with PTFE give an indication of its lifetime?
I will also make a lid and cabinet for the tub, with integrated light, ceramic heater, ventilation and all electronics mounted on top.

Also I hope, and expect, that they won't outgrow this tank, certainly not within the first few years or so.

Will get started building on tuesday, when the glass will arive.

[JimmyVe]

It depends on the humidity how long the PTFE will hold the ants in. If you have a high humidity in your farm the PTFE will go bad sooner.

If you have a hole in one of your glass plates you could put the wires through there and than put some silicone in the hole to close it so the ants can not escape through it.

[Peenmeister]

If you have a hole in one of your glass plates you could put the wires through there and than put some silicone in the hole to close it so the ants can not escape through it.

Yup, luckily I realised that I forgot to order a hole in the glass but called the glascutter to add one. That will probably be the easiest solution, although it might look a bit messy.

[JimmyVe]

Probably looks a bit messy, yes. But i'm sure that is the best solution and the best way to keep your ants from escaping. Use transparent silicone.

[Peenmeister]

Have picked up the glass today and have constructed the tank, except for the moat I was planning to build (broke one of the strips ). Will make some pictures within the next few days.
Oh and I do use transparent silicone

[JimmyVe]

Will make some pictures within the next few days.

Sure do.

[Peenmeister]

Added my photo's:

viewtopic.php?f=133&t=10321

Only big thing left to do is making the lid. I've decided not to go for the trench solution, because I think it will be very ugly. I'm hoping my PTFE along with the 'electric fence' solution and a good closing lid will do the trick. Am going to design and hopefully build that lid this weekend. Now that I'm getting somewhere, I can't wait until it's all finished and the ants are in there.

[donbilbo]

You could buy a big plate of acrylic glass that covers the whole basin. It is very easy to cut out one or two smaller openings in the middle. That plate would be glued or taped to the basin, its not destined to be removed each other day.. This way you only have to use oul or ptfe around the small openings. Its impossible to breach for the ants because they have to be climbing overhead to reach the openings in the first place. I have written about my bigger colony of those ants in the german area...

[Peenmeister]

Since I had some spare glass strips, I just bought a MDF-board (might still go for better quality wood however) and glued the strips to that board so that it fits perfectly. On that board I will construct a cap for lighting and fans, etc. It will also have a slide (also using glass strips) so that I can reach into the tank.
Hopefully I'll have it finished somewhere next week so that the ants can move in around friday

@donbilbo, will check your topic tonight when I get home from work, need to catch up on my german anyway

[gabranth]

if your keeping the humidity high i don't think it would be a good idea to use ptfe. fans for ventilation would be a a good idea

[Peenmeister]

Im wondering if my normal humidity in my house, which is around 50-70 %, is good enough for the ants. Gues I'll just have to try and see how they like it. Either way, I have a lid now that is certainly ant-proof, so I'm not that concerned. I only hope they don't attack the air-tube that runs into the tank.
Also I think the electric copper wire would do the trick. I've read in another topic that his ants eventually learned not to climb the glass. I think this can also be because ants don't like copper, or at least, thats the 'urban myth'. Putting wet coins on your doorstep is said to keep ants out of your house, so maybe that will do the trick. Wondering if it is really true though.