Water leaking thru cotton

Show us your formicariums and ant setup, ask formicarium-related questions, or share your experiences with building an ant home. Here you will also find formicarium requirements for specific ant species.

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
AntFin

Water leaking thru cotton

Post: # 28793Post AntFin
Sat Aug 12, 2017 6:41 am

So i made a starting nest for my queen out of two small containers where one of the containers is where the queen would live while the other on is where the water would be. Between the two containers there is a 5cm tube filled with cotton. When i fill the water container the water leaks thru to the queen side. I've even tried to fill the water container with cotton but it still leaks. I didnt understand how to post pictures but I hope you understand my explanation.

AqdasHassaan

Re: Water leaking thru cotton

Post: # 28806Post AqdasHassaan
Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:00 am

AntFin wrote:
Sat Aug 12, 2017 6:41 am
So i made a starting nest for my queen out of two small containers where one of the containers is where the queen would live while the other on is where the water would be. Between the two containers there is a 5cm tube filled with cotton. When i fill the water container the water leaks thru to the queen side. I've even tried to fill the water container with cotton but it still leaks. I didnt understand how to post pictures but I hope you understand my explanation.
Just do the regular test tube setup. You don't have to have two separate containers for queen and water. You are only making it hard for you by using two containers.

Serafine

Re: Water leaking thru cotton

Post: # 29012Post Serafine
Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:09 am

In a test tube the water is kept inside the tube by negative pressure. If done right (no air bubbles in the water reservoir) the cotton is sucked further into the tube while the water evaporates from it's surface, causing the nesting space available to the colony to increase while the colony is growing.

If you put water into a box with no air-tight lid any air that passes through the cotton can just move upwards through the water into the open - no negative pressure is created and the water will just flow through the cotton. That's essentially the physics behind it.

Cartil
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Water leaking thru cotton

Post: # 29096Post Cartil
Mon Aug 14, 2017 10:28 pm

Serafine wrote:
Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:09 am
In a test tube the water is kept inside the tube by negative pressure. If done right (no air bubbles in the water reservoir) the cotton is sucked further into the tube while the water evaporates from it's surface, causing the nesting space available to the colony to increase while the colony is growing.

If you put water into a box with no air-tight lid any air that passes through the cotton can just move upwards through the water into the open - no negative pressure is created and the water will just flow through the cotton. That's essentially the physics behind it.
Wow, very interesting explanation!

AqdasHassaan

Re: Water leaking thru cotton

Post: # 29142Post AqdasHassaan
Tue Aug 15, 2017 6:12 pm

Indeed it was. For a moment, while reading his answer, I was like am I in a physics class. :D

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests