I was given this two foot wide, inch and a half thick, 50 pound ant farm by Retroman in a trade.
I cleaned it all out, and put in new substrate. I had to do this in layers to keep it from pushing on the glass too much, wetting it down little by little as I went. As long as the dirt is wet (not liquid mud!), it holds itself up pretty well and doesn't push too much on the glass. I also used a c-clamp to hold it as well.
![med_gallery_2_409_572290.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_409/med_gallery_2_409_572290.jpg)
I made a few modifications to it. Instead of the black construction paper and velcro covers/shades he had on it, I made some out of black foam board, and attached it with magnets. I added a larger board to the very bottom of the base, to stable it even more in case of an earthquake or something. I would NOT want this thing to fall over; that would be really bad. I also drilled two 3/8 inch holes in one side. One hole is at the surface of the dirt, and the other is at the very bottom.
Gluing the magnets on.
![med_gallery_2_409_880365.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_409/med_gallery_2_409_880365.jpg)
Here it is all setup and ready for use.
With the cover/shade on.
![med_gallery_2_409_478554.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_409/med_gallery_2_409_478554.jpg)
With the cover/shade off.
![med_gallery_2_409_672998.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_409/med_gallery_2_409_672998.jpg)
I started moving my Pogonomyrmex californicus colony into it.
![med_gallery_2_205_601079.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_205/med_gallery_2_205_601079.jpg)
![med_gallery_2_205_208663.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_205/med_gallery_2_205_208663.jpg)
![med_gallery_2_205_699998.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_205/med_gallery_2_205_699998.jpg)
![med_gallery_2_205_591193.jpg](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_205/med_gallery_2_205_591193.jpg)
Within 10 minutes, they were already digging a new nest in the far back corner of the ant farm. I hope I catch them when they're moving all of their hundreds of brood and the queen into their new nest; it should be interesting to see.