Daubz ant loft

Post your builds, private or commercial set ups. This is where we will document the creation of housing or the planning and construction of projects from scratch. This differs from the Journal Section because this section does not concentrate on the Ants or the other animals that are being kept, this section focuses on the progress of the build.
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Deansie26
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Location: Scotland

Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Deansie26 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:10 am

Use glass mate, far cheaper. No reason it couldn't be in sections either rather than a single long piece

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Daubz1977
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Daubz1977 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:40 am

Could wood be used, id worry glass could get smashed and then I'd have ants everywhere. My thought was a wooden top covered in a white sticky back plastic.
I thought this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5M-X-610MM-OR ... d0Q14lMCOg
ants i keep:-
Atta cephalotes
Polyrhachis dives
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus ligniperdus
Camponotus barbaricus
Formica cunicularia
Messor barbarus
Lasius niger

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Deansie26
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Deansie26 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:27 pm

Guess you could but you might need to prime the wood for the sticky plastic to really take.

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Daubz1977
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Daubz1977 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:54 pm

ill have to have a look at materials i can use, but the idea of glass scares me a bit, im a bit like frank spencer at times it could be disastrous.
ants i keep:-
Atta cephalotes
Polyrhachis dives
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus ligniperdus
Camponotus barbaricus
Formica cunicularia
Messor barbarus
Lasius niger

RichardP
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by RichardP » Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:53 pm

I don't think you should fear the glass. It's a wonder material. Strong, looks good, cleans easily, extremely scratch resistant - and cheap!

You could get 5mm or even 6mm glass which is pretty indestructible.. or if you were really paranoid I don't think that getting safety glass would be prohibitive price wise...

Make sure you ask for polished edges if you order it... they just sand/grind off the edges to a smooth finish..

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Daubz1977
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Daubz1977 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:29 pm

Im swaying towards the glass, because it will look a lot better and i think i could use a thinner piece of glass to acrylic and still be stronger.
ants i keep:-
Atta cephalotes
Polyrhachis dives
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus ligniperdus
Camponotus barbaricus
Formica cunicularia
Messor barbarus
Lasius niger

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:08 pm

Get glass. Try going to a double glazing factory. They always have loads of double glazing units sitting outside. These are the ones that were messed up, made the wrong size or not collected. Ask if you can have one for a science project or something. They will give you for free. You should be able to find a size that would suit. Or get a piece of glass cut. Another material you could try would be the triplex clear roofing panels they sell in Wickes. they might be best of all. They are 10mm thick, 3 layered and used for the roofs of car ports. They are very strong. Just some ideas.

Britishants.com
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Britishants.com » Sun Mar 27, 2016 12:52 am

In my non ant related job we trialled 4mm toughened glass by kicking footballs at large 6' panes across a car park! It took a golf ball to break them and a butch bloke at that! The advice above about thicker glass would be indestructible!

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Daubz1977
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Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Daubz1977 » Sun Mar 27, 2016 8:15 am

I think im going to use the roofing panels, i think they will be easier to work with, i will just be able to cut a hole out in the centre of it to run a tube off down to the dump, this would be slightly more difficult to do with glass i think and also 1 sheet of the 3000mm 900mm is the perfect size. Im going to use 32mm acrylic tubing for the legs
ants i keep:-
Atta cephalotes
Polyrhachis dives
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus ligniperdus
Camponotus barbaricus
Formica cunicularia
Messor barbarus
Lasius niger

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Daubz1977
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Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:49 am
Location: Lincoln

Re: Daubz ant loft

Post by Daubz1977 » Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:27 pm

All my equipment should be delivered in the next couple of days so hopefully by the end of this weekend all should be finished and up to temperature to move my attas up there. Ive gone for a 1.1Kw variable wattage oil filled heater i thought it would be better just in case 500w wasnt big enough at least i can mess about about with it a bit to get things ideal. I was planning on painting the loft but wont get time now i dont want my ants up there with paint fumes and my wife want them moving asap, apparently a nursery for our unborn daughter is more important than my ant, i think my wife needs to take a good look at her prioritys ;). Ive now decided im going to build another shelf the same size as the one that can be seen in the photo which i will connect with a wooden or rope bridge this will be used as a feeding station for a while but as the colony grows i can start adding fungus gardens to it, this should give me enough room for around 45 30cmx30cmx30cm cubes i may never need all of it but better safe than sorry i think.
ants i keep:-
Atta cephalotes
Polyrhachis dives
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus ligniperdus
Camponotus barbaricus
Formica cunicularia
Messor barbarus
Lasius niger

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