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ben31
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new member

Post by ben31 » Mon Jan 30, 2017 11:54 pm

hi there, im new to leafcutters but not ants, i keep various others including various carpenter species along with various reptiles and inverts, a marine tank, emus and a parrot, ohh ant 52 emu eggs currently in incubators.
i have just about sorted my setup
i have a 5 foot terrarium (doors on front allowing 5inch of water bellow the doors) with a fine mesh screen lid and an integrated hood with fittings for 2 lighting tubes
i have both water heaters and heat mat attatched to the external rear of the setup individualy thermostated so i can control both temperature and humidity ad found this to work and be very stable
the terrarium also has vent holes to both sides meaning i can use acrylic sheets to partly cover the mesh screen on the top to help with humidity
for a nest box i have both an 8inch 5 sided glass cube and a 8x8x10tall glass tank
i have 2 separate tables one for feeding at 8x 10 inch and a waste site at 8x8inch
i have various height platforms for the tables to sit on
im thinking the nest box to sit just above the waterline if not just into it
the feeding table about one inch above the water
and the wast table 6 inches above the water,
the reason for this is to give various levels more than anything for visual effect
i have various options for the bridging between nest and tables, these being java branches, artificial bendable reptile vine or other reptile wood and vine etc

if anybody could point out anything i am doing wrong that would be fantastic
also any advice on nest box substrate
what light tubes if any to use
and also which of my 2 nest boxes would be best suited

andrew stephenson pointed me to this forum and has already confirmed the temperature and humidity i should be aiming for as im looking to purchase a small colony of acromyrmex octospinos from him in the near future

many thanks
Ben

ben31
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Re: new member

Post by ben31 » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:09 pm

just an update i have now got my setup running at a constant 24.7 degrees and 97% humidity
i have ordered some clay balls after reading a few posts on here

what compost or soil is recomended to fut on top of them in the nest box please?
also with a 200x200x250mm acrylic nest box would you recomend a lid with smaller hole? i have bits to fit a hinged lid if needed
lastly does the nest box require and vent/drainage holes in sides or base please?
thanks again
Ben

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: new member

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:19 pm

Ben, hi, I wrote a big reply to your email and have just noticed its not posted!!
Dont have time to repost it just now but I will.
Conditions seem perfect.
Never used clay balls but other members have reported success.
Use any cheap compost or peat based product as a substrate. I use B&Q's cheap purple bag stuff, choose the heaviest bag on the pile, the light ones are very dry and take ages to hydrate.
No drainage holes and you only need an entrance (about 22mm), no additional ventillation. I would use the other box and use the taller box as the feeding box or dump chamber.

ben31
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Re: new member

Post by ben31 » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:31 pm

thats great thanks.
so would you reccomend a box rather than just a flat platform for feeding?
ive left my data logger from one of my incubators keeping a watch over the setup so i can keep a look at min and max temps and humidity for a few more days.
il also grab a bag of that purple bag compost tomorrow as b and q is about 300yards from my house and get that in the nest box with a thermometer and hygrometer into the substrate so i can monitor that for a bit also
i was thinking of putting a platform under the nest box slightly bigger than the nest box just in case of any falls so they land on the platform and not the water

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: new member

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:38 pm

No a box on a platform is what I use normally.
Some form of safety ledge around the nest and feeding areas is a good idea to stop too many drowning.

ben31
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Re: new member

Post by ben31 » Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:43 pm

thanks il use a second box for feeding also and a possible third for dumping area

ben31
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Re: new member

Post by ben31 » Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:06 pm

right so just checked the data logger for the past 2 days
average of 24.2 degrees with lows of 23.9 and highs of 24.8
humidity average of 95.6% with lows of 93.6% highs of 99.8%
so all looking great there
i have added a decent filter to the water to keep it moving and try keep it a bit cleaner (considering a few fish species to maybe add later or possibly even aquatic fresh water crabs) and also added a water heater also thermostaticaly controlled with the though of 2 smaller heaters both individually cappable of maintaining heat and humidity is better than one in case of break down etc.

i have decided one nest box foraging and dumping platforms and boxes and they are now all in place with the next box having about an inch of clay walls then filled up to 2/3s with the compost andrew recomended from b and q
i have placed a thermometer/hygrometer probe into the compost in the nost box so i can now monitor that.

so all is now looking good all i now need is a light tub for the hood of my setup but that is not needed yet so no rush.
then it is time to purchase a colony. although that is going to be more difficult than originally planned as the mrs has just realised exactly how much i have already spent on this setup, combine that with the emu eggs i bought a couple of weeks ago and are currently in incubators and i am well and truly in the dog house (i can see me living in with the ants) although this is fair as she was made redundant today.
so now to try find some spare pennies to buy the colony.
i dont think i will be allowed my bank cards back any time in the near future and thats before she realises the parts i ordered for my race car the other evening.

i will try get some pictures up in the next day or so although i am currently tempted to duplicate this setup into a 3 ft terrarium using the smaller for acro and larger for atta

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: new member

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:45 pm

Nice story about the development of this set up. Starting really early so when you get the colony and it grows there is information about the display even before the ants came. I think you should start a new thread in journals and take the story from there. This section is really for saying hello so maybe there would be more response from members if you posted there. Otherwise it seems like you have ticked all of the boxes. Let me know when you are ready!

ben31
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Re: new member

Post by ben31 » Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:44 pm

thanks i will do. more than anything i just want to check and double check all my parameters and how stable they are for a short period now, other than that i am ready

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Deansie26
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Re: new member

Post by Deansie26 » Thu Feb 02, 2017 1:42 pm

Hello Ben, welcome to the forum. You sound like you have your finger on the pulse with your set up, looking forward to seeing photos. Sometime its easier to notice things that might cause problems in a pic.
Anyway Heloo!

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