11 replies to this topic

[Bcam43]

Hi guys,

 

I'd love to get your feedback on this design.

 

Test Tube Founding Cylinders

Edited by Bcam43, August 23 2016 - 2:34 AM.

[Kevin]

It's a cool idea, but seeing that the test tube setup is already working great, I don't think I would buy it unless it's cheap and has greatly increased results from the test tube setup.

[noebl1]

Is the amount of water a bit low?  I filled mine that are 17mm tubes over 1/2 way this summer for ones I caught, and most of them have gone thru about 1/2 the water at this point between drinking and evaporation.

[YawningGull]

Couldn't you just put a little dirt in the test tubes for the ants instead. I might start doing that.

[Kevin]

Is the amount of water a bit low?  I filled mine that are 17mm tubes over 1/2 way this summer for ones I caught, and most of them have gone thru about 1/2 the water at this point between drinking and evaporation.

Yeah, I noticed that too.

[Bcam43]

Is the amount of water a bit low?  I filled mine that are 17mm tubes over 1/2 way this summer for ones I caught, and most of them have gone thru about 1/2 the water at this point between drinking and evaporation.

 

There are 2 cylinders in each test tube. Just take one out and increase the reservoir. As we keep our queens in sealed incubators the external humidity is quite high. As a result evaporation is quite low.

[Bcam43]

Couldn't you just put a little dirt in the test tubes for the ants instead. I might start doing that.

 

The problem with dirt and other mediums is that they tend to stick to and dirty the glass making visibility worse than what we've proposed. The other problem is that it moves around a lot and can stress/injure the queens.

[Bcam43]

It's a cool idea, but seeing that the test tube setup is already working great, I don't think I would buy it unless it's cheap and has greatly increased results from the test tube setup.

 

We have quite a few of these cylinders in testing at the moment against a similar amount of normal test tubes to compare the difference. We have also had some great success to date with this design on some hard to please Australian Melophorus queens. We'll keep everyone posted on the results.

[Kevin]

 

It's a cool idea, but seeing that the test tube setup is already working great, I don't think I would buy it unless it's cheap and has greatly increased results from the test tube setup.

 

We have quite a few of these cylinders in testing at the moment against a similar amount of normal test tubes to compare the difference. We have also had some great success to date with this design on some hard to please Australian Melophorus queens. We'll keep everyone posted on the results.

 

Alright then, sounds good.

[drtrmiller]

Anyone who was active during the old Yuku days, will remember that the GroTube was a test tube designed by committee—an over-engineered monstrosity with so many compromises in the name of versatility, as to be practically useless.

Find what works satisfactorily for you, under a variety of conditions, and then distribute it to others to obtain feedback based on actual hands-on experiences, rather than speculation. It's a slower process, but one that produces a superior design intent.

Edited by drtrmiller, August 23 2016 - 6:58 PM.

[Foogoo]

I feel optimistic about this. I made a few hydrostone nests very similar to these in dram tubes. The ants I've tried all seem to do well, but there's inherent problems with hydration and moving them so they ultimately crash.

[Bcam43]

I feel optimistic about this. I made a few hydrostone nests very similar to these in dram tubes. The ants I've tried all seem to do well, but there's inherent problems with hydration and moving them so they ultimately crash.

 

Thanks for the insight Foogoo. We'll keep these things in mind.