DIY Top Down View Ant Nest (Gypsum Formicarium)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- You all wanted this so here it is!
In this video we will show you our current process for making top down view Formicariums from gypsum cement.
What you’ll need:
Tealight candle holders
Steel mesh
Stove top pan
Coffee stirrers (or something similar)
UltraCal30 aka gypsum cement
Play-sand (wash it first)
Neodymium magnets
Cut glass panels for the mold
Aquarium silicone glue
A sharpie
Pair of scissors
Hand Drill with appropriate bit sizes
Paintbrushes for shaping sand
Mixing bowl
Spatulas for mixing
Funnel
And…lots…and…lots of patience for trial and error. You care about
your ants so you can do it!
Bro I just made one of these nests and I'm shocked at how well it turned out. Thanks so much for posting this.
You’re welcome!
Great video! Very underrated! - ant Holleufer
Thank you!
Thank you. Very good Instruction. Best one on TH-cam! 💚
Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I was looking for a way to make the outcome look neat and clean. Fantastic!
You’re welcome. Glad you liked it!
Best DIY nest i've seen! Congrats
if anything, that small leak might actually be an improvement itself- reminds me of soft plastic lure pouring you need a little vent so an air bubble isnt trapped
A wise man once told me. A smart man learns from his mistakes but a wise man learns from the smart mans. Thx for this video I was about to make one too and hadn’t considered many of the things u did there.
I am glad you liked it. I hope it showed you everything you were curious about
I love making these type of formicariums, very good tutorial👍
Thanks!
This is the best tutorial for a diy ant nest on youtube yet . Keep it up
That's crazy I was just about to make one of these for my pogonomyrmex maricopa colony 😯 how crazy 🤣
I was just wondering how to make one of these! The one you made for your pogos looks great
Thanks!
I've been searching for methods to make this kind of setup for weeks! You're awesome!! Thank you for all the info. Never thought of working backwards by pouring the sand first.
You’re welcome. Glad this content was helpful to you!
@@TheAnttarium do you have a video on cutting the glass?
I do not. When I order museum glass I have it cut to the exact sizes I need by the vendor. They have precision tools for it. The people I order from are on Etsy, and they are called SpecialDeliveryFrame.
@@TheAnttarium awesome thank you!
@@TheAnttarium is this material similar to what's used in tarheel ants nests? Of course it's unknown what he uses as it's proprietary but this looks pretty close!
Thank you!!
Thankk you for sharing this! Also, it is easy to add the cement to water instead of water to cement. It was even in mentioned in the instructions. haha
Your welcome! I tend to do the cement first to see how much I am actually using. If you make it too watery you will have to add more cement and may end up using a lot more than you needed.
i thought he was going to leave the sand in there for ants to dig it out and that way the living space can grow with the colony
Hmmm it never occurred to me to do that. The sand being left behind would get sand grains under the glass and cover the water towers. However, I think I could make it work for a video in the future to see what the ants will do.
@TheAnttarium where do you purchase your Glass for the cover ?
Oo, thank you Sir,
I've been waiting since initially video.
You’re welcome!
Definitely gonna have to make one of these nest! Love the content your putting out too.
Thank you!
I have just made my first one for the year, it turned out great.
Very nice and detailed guide. It seems like this is very hard to pull off if you are a beginner. I could be wrong tho, it just looks like it's a lot of steps and many things can go wrong!
Thanks! It definitely takes some trial and error to get it down. The great thing is the mold can be literally anything. Just make sure you can get the nest out without breaking it.
Thank you, cant wait to make one!!!!
You’re welcome!
Wow this nest looks amazing!!!
Awesome idea with the water towers also!
Wow hands down this is the no1 diy nest tutorial iv seen yet!! Awesome job!
Thank you. I am glad you found this tutorial helpful!
Awesome! Thank you for the tip
Thanks you very much this is soooo helpful
You’re welcome!
nice
Very good 🐜🤝
this looks amazing! but where's the lid? how are you covering the top? i assume glass, but how ?
Would hydrostone plaster be acceptable to use for this as well instead of the ultracal.. What kind of dyes are acceptable to change the color of the plaster?
Beautiful nests!! I'm curious as to the long-term use of one of these nests. Do you find that the steel mesh rusts over time? I'm assuming you can't use a plastic mesh since the ants could chew through it. Also, how do you address mold or debris build up over time? Do you just migrate to a new nest every couple years?
I have never observed the stainless steel mesh rust before in these nests. I think the only way that would happen is if it’s kept overflowing, which would not be good for your ants. Yeah plastic is just asking for ants to chew through it to access the water. You can clean nests periodically. It’s an ordeal though. So typically I just begin moving them to a new nest and then I clean the old one for use by another colony.
Do you use a fire hose for a garden hose? Cause that nozzle is good for fighting fires
Pretty sure it’s a normal garden hose.
Excellent video. How well does this material absorb/wick water?
dose UltraCal30 absorb water?
Yes it does
How much ultracal 30 do you normally use per formicarium? I just wanted to estimate how much should be ordered, and assume at least one failure while learning.
are they good for retaining heat?
Any tips for keeping a level surface for the glass lid
You really need to find a working surface that is level. It can be hard to come by. None of the nests I have made were perfectly level. I use glass as the bottom of the mold because it’s a perfectly smooth surface for the museum glass that will go on it.
Have you tried doing this with plaster?
cool video bro, are gypsum formicarium easily destroyed by water ? if the formicarium exposed to high moisture, will it be okay ? sorry for my bad english
Yes, it'll be just fine, ultracal 30 is pretty hydrophobic, but once it absorbs water it'll hold onto it for a long time.
I Love you
Gay
Have you tried to add perlite? Here in the UK, I can't find the ultracal 30 so I have used plaster and cement ratio 2 to 1 plus perlite to make it lighter. The result is good but probably not as neat as without it. How heavy are these nests?
I am aware of the perlite but I have not used it yet. These nests can weigh several pounds depending on the size. Especially after adding museum glass or if you fill up many water towers.
@@TheAnttarium I will check mine with the glass and everything all filled up but I think it's 3 pounds but still drying. Size is 20 cm by 25 cm
@@antmaster79 howd it go, I wanna make This but no idea what to use instead of ultracal
Started using this method and it work out pretty well. The main issue I’m running into is glass not fitting flush. Anyone have any experience with this and know how to fix it? I would sand it, but there’s the magnets
Do you have links on how you formed the formicarium
So hard, just pour the gypsum and let it semi dry, then scrape out the holes with a spoon
Are you based in Utah?
How big is this one? Length X Width X Height?
This one in particular is 9” x 9.5”. It stands at 1.5” tall
Great video, I am wondering how well does it stand again ant digging?
This should resist most ants.
@@TheAnttarium Thank you :D
I cant find what u used ( the cement type thing) in the uk, so what would u recommend as an alternative thats non toxic
You can’t get UltraCal30 in the UK? Have you tried Amazon? Alternatively you can carve chambers from Ytong or AAC concrete.
@@TheAnttarium checked everywhere, I've made aac nests before. But I have no idea how I would make it have sand stuck to the chambers
Can it fit for camponotus nicobarensis in your opinion?
Yes they can. Just make sure you make the chambers large enough.
What kind of sand did you use?
I used Play Sand from Home Depot. Comes in big heavy bags
wow, that could be in the THA website for sale. How much were all the materials?
I think the individual cost per nest is about $30 or so at this size. That is unless you get museum glass for the top. That gets expensive. You will likely spend $100-$200 to obtain all the materials to get started. As long as you don’t waste a lot of gypsum, you won’t spend a lot going forward.
Can you make this nest vertical rather than horizontal?
Yes. The only thing you have to change is the angle and positioning of the water towers. You will need to secure them between a sand chamber (so the cement doesn’t cover them) and the mold wall that you consider the bottom of the nest. Make sure the mesh is facing upwards.
How can you do it from side view
When drilling to the water towers what do you want to go through it to make a hole into the water tower?
I am not entirely sure I understand the question, but I believe you are asking what I used to make the hole or what I put in there for the water to be inserted. I use a drill to make the hole and a straw as the tube that gets inserted.
@@TheAnttarium so the tube goes into the water tower so you will drill into the water tower
Yes that is correct. Be careful to not go too far in and drill through the entire water tower. You only need the one hole for the straw to go into.
Ty for that but ants can drink in thoses water tanks?
In this colony they have water feeders in the outworld. They are a product made by ByFormica. They have an online shop. They cannot drink from the water towers inside the nest. That is for humidity.
@@TheAnttarium but the water in the tank is going by capilarity in the cement ?
No it has a steel mesh screen on top. The water evaporates over time to raise the humidity through the tiny grid of holes in the mesh. You refill it when they get low.
@@TheAnttarium how much kg do you use of ultracal30 for this nest? thx
I actually don’t know. I haven’t measured it before. I should probably start doing that…
what kinf of sand is it? where do i get it?
Any sand works as long as it’s clean and fine
Why do you all call a water dish a tower ?
Jeez just use tape or string to secure walls
Is there I can contact or message you, are you available Reddit or discord?
Yes you can contact me on the FB page with the name of my YT channel.
subtitle please :(
As far as I know, subtitles are active. If they are not in the desired language, I do not know what else I can do.
Is it ok to use a 3mm acrylic glass instead of normal glass?
Yes