DIY Top Down View Ant Nest (Gypsum Formicarium)

You all wanted this so here it is!

In this video we will show you our current process for making top down view Formicariums from gypsum cement.

What you’ll need:
Tealight candle holders
Steel mesh
Stove top pan
Coffee stirrers (or something similar)
UltraCal30 aka gypsum cement
Play-sand (wash it first)
Neodymium magnets
Cut glass panels for the mold
Aquarium silicone glue
A sharpie
Pair of scissors
Hand Drill with appropriate bit sizes
Paintbrushes for shaping sand
Mixing bowl
Spatulas for mixing
Funnel

And…lots…and…lots of patience for trial and error. You care about
your ants so you can do it!

[RichardRammirez]

great work I wish I had seen this video before I got to work on my formicarium. magnets are a real gamechanger

[philthehexagon]

Bro I just made one of these nests and I'm shocked at how well it turned out. Thanks so much for posting this.

[carlwalker]

Thank you for the video. That nest is lovely. Much love from the UK. Cant wait to see how mine turns out

[kdl]

Thank you. Very good Instruction. Best one on Youtube! 💚

[fodk]

This is the best tutorial for a diy ant nest on youtube yet . Keep it up

[cedfra]

Best DIY nest i've seen! Congrats

[downsouthantkeeper]

A wise man once told me. A smart man learns from his mistakes but a wise man learns from the smart mans. Thx for this video I was about to make one too and hadn’t considered many of the things u did there.

[alexandernh]

Great video! Very underrated! - ant Holleufer

[TylerMaulin]

I've been searching for methods to make this kind of setup for weeks! You're awesome!! Thank you for all the info. Never thought of working backwards by pouring the sand first.

[australianpolyrhachis]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I was looking for a way to make the outcome look neat and clean. Fantastic!

[justantsUSA]

That's crazy I was just about to make one of these for my pogonomyrmex maricopa colony 😯 how crazy 🤣

[Spooder]

Thankk you for sharing this! Also, it is easy to add the cement to water instead of water to cement. It was even in mentioned in the instructions. haha

[shat-jwoj]

I was just wondering how to make one of these! The one you made for your pogos looks great

[marcusbullock]

if anything, that small leak might actually be an improvement itself- reminds me of soft plastic lure pouring you need a little vent so an air bubble isnt trapped

[menzuma]

Oo, thank you Sir,
I've been waiting since initially video.

[kade_ants]

Definitely gonna have to make one of these nest! Love the content your putting out too.

[Drpaper]

I love making these type of formicariums, very good tutorial👍

[Drpaper]

I have just made my first one for the year, it turned out great.

[CMZneu]

Great video but for the life of me I can't figure out why does everybody use magnets! At most you are going to open this thing 3-5 for cleaning for each new colony, you are practically never going to open this with a colony inside.
This is what you do with top down formicariums, same process but no magnets and your containing walls are separated from your viewing glass this way you get a little slot made from plaster for the glass to sink into and fit like a glove, it's a bit hard to pry it out the first time but slowly with a bit of leverage it pops right out. It even makes a better seal for air currents.

[EstheticAnts]

Very nice and detailed guide. It seems like this is very hard to pull off if you are a beginner. I could be wrong tho, it just looks like it's a lot of steps and many things can go wrong!