Introduction: Medium Modular Formicarium (Ant Farm)

About: I like to make useful things with my laser and 3D printer. I share the best of them here and/or on my Etsy page.

This Instructable is for my medium design. The small version is here.

Features:

  • 3-4 ports with magnetic plugs that won't fall out even when the formicarium is tilted.
  • Ports easily connect to other formicaria, outworlds, or test tubes.
  • Multiple nest block designs that can be easily swapped out in minutes.
  • Almost the entire nest interior and outworld are visible. The only places that ants can be hidden from view are the two small tunnels that connect the upper and lower nest blocks.
  • 0.35 mm hole steel mesh window for ventilation and to prevent ants from accessing the hydration box.
  • Hydration boxes can be removed, cleaned, and replaced in minutes without disturbing ants.
  • Escape-proof glass magnetic lid that will contain even the smallest species.
  • This Instructable will show you how to make a high quality formicarium, but it won't be easy or cheap. Read the entire thing before you take the plunge.

Supplies

Tools:

Supplies:

Recommended Accessories and Supplies:

Step 1: How to Use the Formicarium

  • Safely using the glass lid:
    1. Using two hands, slide the lid a few inches before lifting up. Put it back on with the same method in reverse. This prevents the very strong magnets from slamming the glass onto the top of the formicarium and disturbing the ants. Take care to ensure that the glass lid and the upper surface of the acrylic that it slides against are free of sand and debris that could affect the seal and scratch the glass.
    2. See the video below:
  • Filling the hydration box:
    1. Use a blunt-tipped syringe to add water to the hydration box via the syringe hole in the top front of the box. Be sure to check it at least once a week so that it doesn't dry out. See photo 1.
  • Removing the hydration box:
    1. Slide the formicarium forward until the front is sticking out off of the table and the button screws on the hydration box bracket are accessible. See photo 2.
    2. Use the 2.5 mm ball hex key to loosen each screw. See photo 3.
    3. Remove the box. See photos 4-5.
    4. Separate the lid from the box. Clean both pieces with soapy water, then rinse. Dry both pieces and then place them back on the formicarium. Retighten the screws.
  • Using the magnetic port plugs:
    1. Use any ferrous object to pull the magnetic plug out. It can be replaced by hand, or by the same ferrous object that you used to remove it. The nest block port functions the same as the outworld ports. It is useful when transferring colonies to the formicarium because they can enter the nest block directly instead of having to traverse the outworld first. See the video below:
  • Barrier application:
    1. The glass lid should be a nearly airtight seal on the top of the formicarium that will prevent even the smallest ants from escaping. Still though, it is nice to have a primary barrier as well so that there aren't ants crawling on the underside of the lid.

    2. Dip a Q tip in olive oil and slide it along the inside edge of the acrylic part of the lid as shown in photo 6. Try not to get olive oil on the top of the acrylic where it touches the glass or else it will leave a smear.

  • Using a heating cable:
    1. The groove in the formicarium is designed to work with this heating cable. Other cables probably won't fit.
    2. The groove is designed so that multiple formicaria can be daisy chained together on a single cable and each one can be independently removed without detaching the cable from the other formicaria.
    3. Grab the cable with two hands and pull it up along the slots in the acrylic and into the groove in the back of the upper nest block. Pull it taught so that it enters the groove. See the video below:
  • Removing the ventilation tray:
    1. Ants will throw powdered refuse through the ventilation mesh at the bottom of the formicarium. There is an acrylic tray below the mesh that is held on by magnets. The tray catches the refuse and prevents it from falling to the surface that the formicarium sits on. See the video below:

Step 2: Choose a Nest Block Variant

I will update this Instructable with new variants as I design them. I also update older variants occasionally, so the prints might be slightly different from the photos.

  1. Choose a style that matches the size of your ants. Tunnels, for instance, is better for smaller ants like Tetramorium. The two geode variants are good for larger ants like Pogonomyrmex and some Camponotus.
  2. Decide whether or not you would like to leave the nest block bare plastic or add a sandy substrate. Some ants, like Myrmecocystus, require a sandy substrate.

Mirrored versions of the asymmetric designs are also available in the 3D Print Plastic Parts section. This can be useful if, for instance, you want the nest block port on the right instead of the left.

Step 3: Choose a Nest Entrance Plug

The nest entrance plugs come in sizes from 2-6 mm, inclusive. The exact sizes are: 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 3.75, 4.0, 4.25, 4.5, 4.75, 5.0, 5.25, 5.5, 5.75, and 6.0 mm. Choose a plug that is appropriate for the size of the ants you will be keeping in the formicarium.

Step 4: 3D Print Plastic Parts

  1. Download the zip file here.
  2. Find the files that correspond to the nest blocks and entrance plug that you selected in the previous steps. The nest blocks each have their own folder inside the 3D Print Files folder and the entrance plugs are within the Common Parts folder inside the 3D Print Files folder. You will also need the Hydration Plate, Slope, and .375 in OD D46 Magnet Sleeve files, which are the same for every variant of this formicarium and are also in the Common Parts folder.
  3. Print out the Upper Block, Lower Block, Hydration Plate, Slope, 2 entrance plugs, and 3-4 of the magnet sleeves, (4 if you use a variant with a nest block port).
    1. The nest blocks should be oriented with the caves facing up, and require supports. It is critical that the top surface of the caves is parallel with the bed of the printer. Any other orientation could prevent the acrylic or glass front panels from sealing against the caves and ants might escape. See photo 1.
    2. The Hydration Plate should be printed with support and with the rectangular depression facing up as shown in photo 2. This depression will hold the steel mesh later.
    3. The entrance plugs should be printed flat side down and don't require supports, although their small size might require slower print speeds and a brim.
    4. The magnet sleeves should be printed with the openings facing up and don't require supports.
  4. Remove supports/brim/excess plastic from the pieces. It can be difficult to remove the supports from the heating cable groove on the back of the upper nest block. A pocket knife can help with this.

Step 5: Magnetic Port Plugs

  1. Gather the D46 magnets and the 3D printed sleeves. Many are pictured in photo 1, but you only need 3-4 for one formicarium, (4 if your nest block has a port).
  2. Choose an orientation for your magnets. I picked one randomly before I had a compass to tell which is which. It doesn't matter which orientation you choose as long as you're consistent. The North point of my compass is pointing to the outside surface of the magnetic port plug in photo 2. That means that the South side of the magnet is sticking out of the plug. In all of my builds, all of my magnets have the South side facing out. This is true of the magnetic ports and the magnets for the formicarium lid.
  3. Once you've decided on an orientation, place a few drops of clear Gorilla Glue on the side of the magnet that will be inside the plug, then push it into the plug. If excess glue squirts out, wipe it away and use less glue next time.
  4. Once you have one plug finished, you can use it as a template to make sure that the rest of the plugs are in the same orientation. Place the finished plug magnet-side down and put a new magnet on the top. Add a few drops of glue. See photo 3.
  5. Pick up the finished plug and new magnet with glue. Flip them over and press the magnet into a new sleeve as shown in photo 4.
  6. After an hour, check that the plug fits into the port. If it doesn't, sand it with 220 grit sandpaper until it does.
  7. Repeat until you have as many plugs as you need.

Step 6: Cut Acrylic Tubes

  1. Gather your hack saw or band saw, 1/2 inch OD acrylic tube, and 3/8 inch OD acrylic tube.
  2. Cut three 12.5 mm long pieces and two 8mm pieces from the 1/2 inch OD tube.
    • If the nest block you chose has a port, cut one 14 mm long piece from the same 1/2 inch OD tube.
  3. Cut two 13 mm long pieces from the 3/8 inch OD tube.
  4. Sand the cut edges until they are flat and smooth. Use your fingernail or X-Acto blade to remove any plastic burs that stick inside of the tube.
  5. Wash and dry the pieces.

Step 7: Nest Block Assembly I

  1. Set your upper and lower nest blocks on a piece of scrap wood or acrylic to protect your work surface.
  2. In a later step you will pour sand over the nest blocks without making a mess. Prepare a bowl, tub, or box in which to do this. I used a cereal box
  3. Use a wood applicator to add a pea-sized amount of pigment to a disposable cup or scrap of acrylic. I used these cups. If you don't have a wood applicator, you can make your own by snapping the pointy end off of a toothpick and then smashing it flat with a hammer to widen it. If you are using black sand, the pigment probably won't show at all in the finished nest block. It is still good to add it though because it will help you see which areas have been glued and which are bare PLA.
  4. Squeeze some of the epoxy into the cup along with the pigment. The epoxy cures quickly, so you should only add as much as you can use in 5 minutes. See photo 1.
  5. Mix the epoxy and pigment until it is thoroughly blended and then begin applying it to the interior of the nest blocks. Work quickly and try to scoop up large globs. Don't spread them out too thin. You want to have a nice thick layer of epoxy for the sand to stick to. See photos 2 and 3.
  6. Once you transfer all of your epoxy to the nest, or if your epoxy starts to harden, quickly move your nest blocks to the container you set aside in step 2. Pour your sand over the nests until all the epoxy is covered, then take them back out and shake off the excess sand. See photo 4.
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the nest area is covered. Take care not to get any epoxy on the front face of the nest blocks where the acrylic or glass will attach. The upper nest block has two insertion points on the back for acrylic tubing, and if it has a nest port, it will have one on the side too. Do not allow epoxy to get on the flat side of the insertion points where the acrylic tubes will go later. See photos 5 and 6 for proper glue and sand application around the insertion points. Also avoid gluing the part of the upper block that is highlighted in photos 7 and 8. That part will have to be coated after the upper and lower blocks are glued together.
  8. In the zip file that you downloaded earlier, navigate to the Common Laser Files folder and find the Lower Block Mesh Outline files. All of the laser files come in .ai, .svg, .dxf, and .pdf. Select the one that you prefer and cut it out of acrylic.
  9. Use the Lower Block Mesh Outline piece of acrylic to trace cut lines onto the 0.35 mm hole steel mesh with a pencil. Cut out the mesh along the lines with a pair of scissors.
  10. Place the 3D printed hydration plate so that the recessed rectangular area is facing up. Check that the piece of mesh fits in the recessed rectangle. Trim it if it doesn't.
  11. Take the mesh off and apply glue in the red areas shown in photo 11. Avoid getting glue near the holes. See photo 12.
  12. Put the mesh onto the glue in the recessed rectangular area and then press the hydration plate onto the bottom of the bottom nest block as shown in photo 13. The steel mesh should be between the hydration plate and the lower nest block.
  13. Align the hydration plate and lower nest block so that their edges line up, then use clamps to hold them together for at least one hour. See photo 14.
  14. After an hour, remove the clamps. Check the holes at the bottom of the block. If there is glue in the holes, remove it with an X-Acto knife.
  15. Place the block on its side as shown in photo 15. Drip a line of Weld-On 16 in the groove. See photo 16.
  16. Quickly press the lower block into the upper block. Make sure that the pieces are aligned and then use clamps to hold them in place for 10 minutes. See photo 17.
  17. Remove the clamps and apply epoxy + sand to the bare two bare spots in the tunnels that connect the two blocks. See photo 8.
  18. Look at the mesh at the bottom of the nest block. It should look like photo 18. Use a wooden applicator to apply gorilla glue along the edges where the mesh is in contact with the plastic. Don't get glue on the open part of the mesh that isn't against plastic. See photo 19.

Step 8: Nest Block Assembly II

  1. If you are using a nest block that contains a port, follow the sub steps below. If not, skip to the next full step.
    1. Find the 14 mm long piece of the 1/2 inch OD acrylic tube that you made in the Cut Acrylic Tubes section.
    2. Put a magnetic port plug in the tube and attach an N51-D52 disk magnet as shown in photo A. Make sure that the magnet and plug are aligned just like the photo. This is how the magnet, plug, and tube will be oriented in the nest block.
    3. Put a drop of clear Gorilla Glue in the shallow round hole of the nest block port. Carefully move the magnet from the tube to the glue without changing its orientation. See photo B. Use your pinky to firmly press the magnet into the hole. Wipe away any excess glue.
    4. Slide the tube over the magnet and press it firmly into the nest block until it reaches the end as shown in photo C.
    5. Put the plug in the tube and make sure that it is just about flush with the edge of the nest block as shown in photo D. If it's off by a lot, try pulling the tube back out and flipping the disk magnet over before the glue dries.
    6. Once you're sure that everything is positioned properly, remove the port plug and use Weld-On to glue the acrylic tube in place. Try to only apply the Weld-On to the end of the tube that is inside the nest, right where it touches the nest. I used a fine brush to apply it from within the tube without getting it on the sides. If you get Weld-On on the sides of the tube, it will make it cloudy. Make sure that this end is well sealed. If it isn't, ants could escape into the space between the acrylic tube and the front panel.
    7. Apply Weld-On to the outward facing end of the tube where the blue line is in photo E.
    8. Apply Weld-On 16, (the thicker Weld-On), to the same area and be sure to fill in all the gaps. See photo F.
    9. Finish following the outer numbered steps and don't reinsert the magnetic port plug until the nest block is finished.
  2. Next you will use a soldering iron to put in the brass threaded inserts. There are special soldering iron tips for this, but I don't have one, so I just use a flat chisel tip and some forceps to hold the insert in place if necessary. Press the inserts in until they are just below flush with the plastic. Do not leave them proud above the plastic. If you are using a nest block with acrylic front panels held on by screws, you will need to sink 19 brass inserts. If you are using a nest block with glass front panels, you will only need to use 8 inserts on the bottom, sides, and back of the block. See photos 1-3. If you are using the glass version, do not sink inserts into the magnet holes on the front of the block.
  3. The inserts will slightly deform the plastic around them and the seams between the 3 pieces of the nest block might not be perfectly aligned. Fix this by sanding each face of the block flat with 220 grit sandpaper. Then sand with 320 and 400 grit to get a nice smooth surface. This step is extremely important! If you don't have a perfectly flat surface, there might be a gap between the nest block and the front panels that would allow small ants to escape. Since the front of the block has two faces at an angle, you will have to place sandpaper on a scrap board in order to sand each face individually. See photo 6.
  4. Find the nest entrance plugs that you printed earlier. Use Weld-On to attach them to the 13 mm long 3/8 in OD acrylic tubes. See photo 7.
  5. Wait at least 10 minutes for the Weld-On to evaporate and then sand the nest entrance plugs' edges until they are flush with the acrylic tubes as shown in photo 8. Careful use of an X-Acto knife also works here.
  6. Find the 8 mm long 1/2 in OD acrylic tube pieces and use an X-Acto knife to slightly widen the openings as shown in photo 9.
  7. Check that the nest entrance plugs can fit inside of the 1/2 in OD tubes as shown in photo 10. If not, keep sanding the entrance plugs' edges until they fit.
  8. Press the nest entrance plug tubes into the holes on the back of the nest block as shown in photo 11. If they fit loosely, place drops of Weld-On on the part of the tubes that will go into the nest block, then smear them with your finger. Once the solvent dries, the surface will be rough and more likely to fit tightly. If they fit too tightly, use an X-Acto knife to trim the tubes and the holes that they go in until they fit. See photo 12.
  9. If you are using a nest block with acrylic front panels and screws, skip to the next step. If you are using a glass version, continue below.
    1. Cut one piece of glass that is 120 mm x 35.5 mm and another that is 120 mm x 74 mm. The easiest way to do this is by cutting one long 120 mm wide piece and then cutting 74 mm and 35.5 mm pieces from it. See photo G.
    2. Sand the sharp edges of both pieces of glass on wet 220 grit sandpaper until they're no longer capable of cutting you. Round the front two corners of the smaller glass panel so that they match the bevel on the nest block as shown in photo I.
    3. Wash the glass pieces in warm soapy water and then dry them.
    4. Put both pieces of glass on the nest block and check to make sure that they fit perfectly flat, don't rock, and don't have bits of sand in the way. Sand the front faces of the nest block again if necessary.
    5. Take one of the curved dental syringes and pull the plunger completely out. Squeeze a few mL of clear Gorilla Glue inside and replace the plunger. Gather a magnet port plug and at least 5 D46 magnets. Place the plug with the magnet side facing up and stack the rest of the magnets on top. See photo K.
    6. Use the syringe to add a few drops of glue to one of the magnet holes in the lower face of the nest block. Try to get the glue on the bottom and sides of the hole, but be careful not to overfill it. You don't want glue to flow out when you put the magnet in. See photo L.
    7. Take the top D46 magnet off of the stack and place it into the hole that you glued. Be careful not to change the magnet's orientation. The side that was facing up when it was on the stack should remain facing up. See photo M. The hole is deeper than the magnet is long, so it might not be flush with the surface. That is fine. Continue gluing and adding magnets in the same manner for the remaining 4 holes on the lower face of the nest block. See photo N.
    8. Place the smaller piece of glass over the magnets, making sure that the rounded glass edges are towards the front. See photo O.
    9. Put a drop of clear Gorilla Glue from the syringe onto the glass over each of the magnets. See photo P.
    10. Put a D51 disk magnet on each of the glue drops. This should cause the D46 magnet below to jump up flush with the glass. See photo Q.
    11. Wait 1.5 hours, then pull the glass off. If you overfilled the holes, there might be some glue on the glass. Clean excess glue off of the glass and the nest block.
    12. Add glue, magnets, and glass to the upper face of the nest block using the same technique as the lower face. Be careful when adding magnets to the bottom row of the upper face since they are so close to the magnets in the lower face. Leave the lower glass panel off of the nest block during this process.
    13. Wait 1.5 hours, then pull the upper glass panel off and remove any excess glue.
    14. Carefully lower the glass panels back in place.
    15. Skip ahead to step 11.
  10. Use 6 screws to hold the top panel and 5 to hold the bottom panel to the nest block. See photo 13.
  11. Put the port plug back into the completed nest block.

Step 9: Laser-cut Acrylic Outworld and Hydration Box Bracket Parts

  1. The laser cut files come in .ai, .svg, .dxf, and .pdf. If you are using a nest block that has acrylic front panels, cut out the All Pieces file. If you are using glass front panels, cut the All Pieces Except Panels file.
  2. Cut the Hydration Box Silicone Jig file from acrylic. See photo 1.
  3. Load the Hydration Box Jig file and put wood or acrylic in the laser. Make sure that the wood or acrylic is against the bottom right of the laser bed so that you can put it back in the same exact place easily. Start the laser with red set to vector engrave and green set to cut. Don't cut the black or blue lines.
  4. Remove the sheet from the laser bed. It should look similar to photo 2. Flip it over and add thin strips of tape as shown in photo 3. For this formicarium, you only have to add tape to the large square holes. The smaller rectangles are for this smaller design.
  5. Flip the sheet back over so that the tape is on the bottom, sticky side up. Take the lid off of an Amac box and put it top down in one of the large square holes. The sticky tape should hold it in place. See photo 4.
  6. Put the sheet in the laser. See photo 5. Cut just the black rounded rectangle that corresponds with the position of the Amac lid. See photo 6.
  7. Put the lid back on the Amac box. See photo 7.
  8. Cut the Medium Nest Syringe Hole Jig from acrylic. See photo 8.
  9. Put the Medium Nest Syringe Hole Jig on the side of the Amac box that you cut a hole out of. See photo 9.
  10. Use a 1.5 mm, 2 mm, or 1/16th inch drill bit in the hole of the jig to drill through the box. You can either do this very carefully with a drill, or very slowly by twisting the drill bit in your fingers. See photos 10 and 11.
  11. Use the Hydration Box Silicone Jig and an X-Acto knife to cut out a piece of silicone in the same shape as the jig. See photos 12 and 13.
  12. Wash all the remaining acrylic pieces in warm soapy water, then dry them. See photo 14.

Step 10: Hydration Box Bracket Assembly

  1. Find the 7 pieces shown in photo 1.
  2. Press together the 3 pieces shown in photos 2-4.
  3. Press the three pieces from the previous step into the large rectangular piece as shown in photos 5 and 6.
  4. Press the boat shaped piece on top of the previously assembled pieces as shown in photo 7.
  5. Flip the assembled pieces upright as shown in photo 8.
  6. Put the last two pieces on as shown in photo 9.
  7. Use Weld-On liberally to weld the pieces together.

Step 11: Outworld Slope

  1. Find the 3D printed slope from photo 1 and stand it in the same orientation as the photo so that the smaller flat surface is facing down.
  2. Use the same epoxy and sand method from earlier to make sandy trails from the bottom of the slope to the two top divots where the nest block entrances will be. See photo 2.

Step 12: Outworld Assembly I: Mesh Window and Weld-on

  1. Cut a 60 mm x 60 mm piece of the 0.35 mm mesh.
  2. Find the piece of acrylic that looks like photo 2.
  3. Gather two sheets of wax paper, a flat piece of scrap acrylic or wood, and a heavy object.
  4. Put a piece of wax paper down on a flat surface and then put the acrylic piece on top.
  5. Spread a thin layer of clear Gorilla Glue around the rectangular hole in the center as shown in photo 3. It's ok to be messy with the glue because it will be covered by hydrostone in a later step.
  6. Put the mesh over the glue, and press it down. See photo 4.
  7. Cover the mesh and glue with the second sheet of wax paper and then put the flat scrap on top. See photo 5.
  8. Put the heavy object over the scrap and let everything sit for at least an hour. See photo 6.
  9. After an hour, take everything off of the piece. It should look like photo 7. If the mesh isn't sufficiently glued in place, add another thin layer of gorilla glue to the mesh where it's loose.
  10. Find the two pieces of acrylic shown in photo 8. Arrange them so that they are mirrored, just like in the photo.
  11. Press one of the 12.5 mm 1/2 inch OD acrylic tubes into each of the mirrored pieces as shown in photo 9.
  12. Find the piece from photo 10 and press the last 12.5 mm 1/2 inch OD tube into it.
  13. Find the piece from photo 11 and press the two 8 mm 1/2 inch OD tubes into it. See photo 12.
  14. Press together the two pieces shown in photo 13. Make sure that the tubes in the vertical piece are sticking out and the small screw holes are at the top. Make sure that the tube on the horizontal piece is sticking up.
  15. Add the bottom piece with the mesh side facing down/out. See photos 14 and 15.
  16. Add the back piece with the tube facing in. See photos 16 and 17.
  17. Add the other side piece with the tube facing in. See photos 18 and 19.
  18. Check everything one more time to make sure that all the orientations are correct. If they are, use Weld-On to weld all the pieces together, including the tubes. Make sure to apply it to every seam.
  19. Find the three pieces shown in photo 21.
  20. Arrange them as shown in photo 22.
  21. Flip the formicarium over so that the mesh bottom is facing up. Take the three pieces from step 20 and insert them into one of the sets of holes in the formicarium bottom. See photos 23-24.
  22. Do the same for the other set of three pieces and the second row of holes in the formicarium bottom. See photo 25.
  23. Find the two pieces that look like photo 26.
  24. Put them onto the previous 6 pieces that you just attached to the bottom of the formicarium. See photo 27.
  25. Use Weld-On to weld all the recently attached pieces together.

Step 13: Outworld Assembly II: Glue

  1. Before applying any glue, take the completed Slope and check that it fits inside the outworld. See photo 1. If it doesn't, trim it down with an X-Acto knife and/or sandpaper.
  2. Use a curved syringe to apply a thin line of clear Gorilla Glue to every seam on the interior of the outworld. This includes holes in the bottom of the outworld where other pieces fit in. See photo 2 for glue locations. Apply extra glue in the squiggly areas where the slope will attach.
  3. Push the slope down into the formicarium and firmly into the glue spots that you just applied. See photo 3.
  4. Use the syringe to apply another bead of clear Gorilla Glue along the red line in photo 4.
  5. Put port plugs in the 3 outworld ports as shown in photo 5.
  6. Put a D51 disk magnet on each of the acrylic tubes that house the plugs as shown in photo 6. Don't worry about the orientation. The magnet will orient itself to stick to the plug. Just make sure it looks like the photo.
  7. Use a syringe to apply a blob of clear Gorilla Glue on the floor of the outworld just below the inside edge of each of the ports. Don't worry about getting glue all over the floor because it will be covered in hydrostone later. See photo 7.
  8. Slide the D51 magnet until it is just above the glue as shown in photo 8.
  9. Use a B555 magnet to pull the D51 magnet down onto the glue. Do this by slowly bringing the B555 magnet up under the outworld. Feel which way the magnet wants to go and orient it so that it will be attracting the smaller magnet down into the glue rather than repelling it away. See photos 9 and 10.
  10. Wait at least an hour before removing the B555 magnets.

Step 14: Outworld Assembly III: Hydrostone

Wear a respirator when working with flocculent powders like hydrostone and pigments.

  1. Use blue painters' tape to cover up all of the seams on the bottom and sides of the outworld as shown in photo 1. This will limit the amount of hydrostone and water that drips out, but some will probably still leak, so don't do this on a surface that you care about.
  2. Measure out 1/3 cup of hydrostone.
  3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the pigment of your choice and gently mix while still dry. Don't worry if the pigment doesn't show well yet. It will be much more apparent once you add the water. See photo 4.
  4. Add 1/6 cup of water to the powder mixture. If you don't have a 1/6 cup measure, just eyeballing half of a 1/3 cup measure is fine. Mix until the mixture is one solid color with no powder clumps remaining. See photos 5-6.
  5. Use a plastic pipette to transfer the hydrostone to the bottom of the outworld. Drip carefully around the edges of the mesh hole so that it doesn't spill over the mesh. Make sure to push the hydrostone into the corners of the outworld so that you don't miss a spot. See photos 7-11.
  6. After the bottom of the outworld is completely covered, make sure there are no air bubbles or bare spots. Then wait about 5-10 minutes for the the hydrostone mix to start to solidify. Once it has more of a syrup like consistency, pipette it onto either side of the port tubes. See photos 12-14. This will fill in the small gap between the edge of the port and the hydrostone so that ants can't dump garbage in it.
  7. Wait an hour for the hydrostone to cure and then remove the blue tape. Wipe away any stray splatters of hydrostone from the walls with a damp Q-tip.
  8. Check to see if the formicarium rests stably on a flat surface. If there's a slight wobble, you can correct it by sanding the bottom of the formicarium with 220 grit sandpaper until it stops wobbling.

Step 15: Outworld Assembly IV: Lid and Magnets

  1. Find the lid piece from photo 1 and check to make sure that it's perfectly flat. If it's warped or bent you will have to cut a new one.
  2. Laser cut acrylic can have small ridges of melted plastic along the cut edge. Feel the ridges on both sides of the piece, and place the side that has less severe ridges facing up.
  3. These ridges will interfere with the glass lid and potentially allow ants to escape, so you have to very carefully remove them with an X-Acto knife. Do this by dragging/scraping the blade along each of the top edges. See photos 1-4 and pay attention to the arrows. It's important that you move the blade in the direction of the arrow and in the same orientation as the photo. Go slowly and be extremely careful. If you slip you could leave a deep gouge on the acrylic or even seriously injure yourself.
  4. Continue removing the ridges until the entire top surface of the lid feels smooth.
  5. The next few steps are the most difficult of the entire project. If you make a mistake here, you could potentially ruin the entire outworld of the formicarium. Read the directions carefully and proceed cautiously.
  6. Place the lid piece upside-down on a completely flat surface. That is, the side that you just removed ridges from should be facing down. If you don't use a perfectly flat surface, your acrylic will be warped and ants will be able to escape between the acrylic part of the lid and the glass lid. I am using a piece of MDF for my flat surface.
  7. Place the outworld upside-down on top of the lid piece and align it. There may be small gaps between the outworld and the lid piece. Don't worry about them now and don't try to force the formicarium down onto the lid to close the gaps. That will only cause the lid piece to warp. The reason for assembling the lid upside-down like this on a flat surface is to ensure that the glass lid will fit perfectly with no gaps. See photo 5.
  8. Once everything is aligned, apply Weld-On to the seam between the lid piece and the outworld. Don't touch the formicarium at all during this process. If you have it on a piece of something flat, like my MDF, you can rotate that to access the rest of the seam. If it's on something that can't rotate, like a table, you will have to reach around to get to the other sides of the seam.
  9. Let the formicarium sit for 10 minutes while you cut the piece of glass for the lid.
  10. Cut a piece of glass that is 142 mm x 126 mm. Use wet 220 grit sandpaper to dull all the sharp edges and round the corners. See photos 6-8.
  11. Prepare a curved syringe of clear Gorilla Glue and use it to apply a thick line all along the inside seam between the acrylic lid piece and the rest of the outworld. Do this while the outworld is still upside-down to prevent the glue from dripping down the walls. Add extra glue to each of the four corners because this is where the B555 magnets will go. See photos 9 and 10.
  12. Be careful with the magnet orientation. Use one of the magnet plugs from earlier to orient one of your B555 magnets by placing the plug with the magnet side facing up as shown in photo 11. Then place a B555 magnet on top of the plug as shown in photo 12. The top surface of the B555 magnet should be glued onto the acrylic lid piece inside the outworld.
  13. Place the magnet into the glue in the proper orientation and ensure that all three sides are right up against the acrylic. Once the magnet is in place, use one of the 4 extra B555 magnets on the other side of the lid to hold the first B555 magnet in place until the glue dries. See photo 13. Use the curved syringe to add a line of clear Gorilla Glue all along the edges of the magnet that touch the acrylic so that there are no gaps. See photo 14.
  14. Repeat this process for the other 3 corners. See photo 15.
  15. Once all the magnets are glued in place, use one of the plug magnets to check that all of the B555 magnets are in the same orientation. If they aren't, you will have to try to flip them into the correct orientation before the glue dries.
  16. Leave the outworld upside-down resting on the extra B555 magnets as shown in photo 15 for at least an hour.
  17. Flip the outworld back upright. Place the glass lid on top of the outworld and check to see if it wobbles. If you did the above steps correctly, it should be perfectly flat. If there is a slight wobble, you can still use the formicarium with ants that are larger than the gap caused by the wobble.
  18. Place D51 disk magnets on each of the four corners of the glass, just above the B555 magnets as shown in photo 17.
  19. Remove one of the magnets and check that the glass lid is still aligned. Use the curved syringe to add a drop of Gorilla glue where the magnet was. Put the magnet back on top of the glue. See photos 18-19.
  20. Repeat step 19 for each of the three remaining magnets and then let the glue dry for at least an hour.

Step 16: Refuse Tray

  1. Find the 5 pieces shown in photo 1.
  2. Assemble the pieces as shown in photo 2 and use Weld-On to attach them together.
  3. Find a magnet port. Put a D51 disk magnet over the bare magnet side of the port plug. See photo 3.
  4. Place the plug and D51 magnet to the side of the tray as shown in photo 4.
  5. Use a syringe to add a drop of clear Gorilla Glue to the tray in the location shown in photo 5.
  6. Pull the disk magnet off of the port plug and, without changing its orientation, place it on the glue. See photo 6.
  7. Repeat the process for the other side. See photo 7.
  8. Wait at least an hour for the glue to dry, then put the outworld face down. See photo 8.
  9. Slide the tray into the slot in the bottom of the outworld and use two D51 disk magnets to hold it in place. See photo 9.
  10. Remove one of the disk magnets and put a drop of clear Gorilla Glue where it was. See photo 10.
  11. Put the D51 magnet back over the glue. See photo 11.
  12. Repeat the process to glue the other magnet on. See photo 12.
  13. After an hour you can flip the outworld upright again.

Step 17: Final Assembly

  1. Find the completed nest block.
  2. Flip the nest block upside-down. See photo 1. Add the silicone gasket as shown in photo 2.
  3. Put the hydration box and then the hydration box bracket on top of the silicone gasket. See photos 3-4.
  4. Attach the bracket with two screws, but don't fully tighten them. Adjust the pieces until everything is perfectly aligned, then fully tighten the screws. See photo 5.
  5. Take the glass lid off of the outworld and bring the nest block up to the front. See photo 6.
  6. Plug the nest block into the outworld as shown in photos 7 and 8.
  7. Attach 2 screws each to the left and right sides of the nest block through the outworld acrylic. Do not fully tighten the screws yet. See photo 9.
  8. Put two screws in the back of the nest block as shown in photo 10 and fully tighten them.
  9. Fully tighten the side screws.
  10. Replace the glass lid. You're done!

Step 18: Tubing and Port Adapters

The ports can link formicaria to other formicaria, outworlds, or even test tubes.

To make a test tube port adapter:

  1. Cut, sand, and wash an 11 mm piece of 1/2 inch OD acrylic tube and a 22 mm piece of 3/8 inch OD acrylic tube. Use the same technique as you used in the previous tube-cutting section.
  2. Put the longer, thinner tube inside the other one as shown in photo 2.
  3. Use Weld-On to fuse the pieces together as shown in photo 3.
  4. Check that the adapter is small enough to fit into the end of a spare test tube.
  5. Begin wrapping the adapter in electrical tape as shown in photo 5.
  6. Continue wrapping until the adapter just barely fits into the tube as shown in photo 6.
  7. Use scissors or an X-Acto knife to remove the excess tape as shown in photo 7.
  8. Push the adapter into the tube. It should go at least 1/3 of the way into the tube. If not, unwrap and cut off a small length of tape and try again. See photo 8.
  9. The adapter should now be able to be plugged into the formicarium. Wait at least a day before using it on a test tube with a colony inside to allow the Weld-On to fully evaporate. See photos 9-10.

Options for tubing:

  • The simplest method is to buy 3/8 inch OD diameter clear vinyl tubing and plug it directly into two ports. the downside to this method is that it can be hard to plug and unplug the tubing. Wetting the ends of the tube before plugging it in makes it much easier to get it into the ports. See photo 11.
  • Another option is to cut, sand, and wash two 22 mm long pieces of 3/8 inch OD acrylic tubing. Wet each tube and push them halfway into each end of a length of 1/2 inch OD 3/8 inch ID vinyl tubing. This style of tubing is easier to plug into ports. See photos 12-15.
  • A variation on the previous method is to cut one end of the 22 mm 3/8 inch OD acrylic tube at a 45 degree angle. By using Weld-On to glue two of these 45 degree angled tubes together, you can get a single 90 degree angle tube. Put 2 of these 90 degree angle tubes on the ends of a 1/2 inch OD 3/8 inch ID vinyl tube and you will have a more compact way of connecting ports, especially if the heights of the ports are not the same. See photos 16-20.
  • Yet another way is to cut a 36 mm length of the 3/8 inch OD tube and a 12 mm length of the 1/2 inch OD tube. Glue them together and they can be used to join two identical formicaria very close together. See photos 21-25.
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