AntsCanada Ant Tower User manual

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User Manual
AntsCanada Ant TowerTM

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Contents
1 Ant Tower
1 Nest Reducer
1 Lid
1 Food Cap
1 Base (water reservoir)
1 Bag of sand

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1 Test Tube
2 PlugsTM
1 Test Tube Adapter
Large Vinyl TubingTM (6 inches)
1 Red Transparent Nest Cover
[Picture not available]

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Introduction
Congratulations on choosing AntsCanada for your ant keeping needs, where
professional ant keepers design and use the products. Your new AntsCanada Ant
TowerTM is a fully contained ant environment, complete with a nesting area and a
foraging area. It comes with an easy-to-use hydration system to keep your ant colony
well hydrated and provides easy and secure access for feeding.
As a member of our line of soil formicariums (fancy word for “ant farm”), your Ant
TowerTM allows your ants to create their own nest by digging tunnels and chambers.
And the best part is –you get to watch them do it!
Features
The AntsCanada Ant TowerTM has several features that make it the best soil formicarium
available.
1. Hydration
a. The bottom-up hydration approach more closely mimics the natural
environment that ants live in. In nature, the deeper portions of an ant nest
are typically moister than the upper portions.
b. The water reservoir provides water for at least a week, sometimes longer
depending on local conditions. This way you can leave for a time period
and not be worried about your ants dying from lack of water.

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Features (continued)
2. Nest Reducer
a. The nest reducer allows you to make the width of the digging area
narrower. For smaller ant species, this can be desirable as it forces them to
dig more tunnels and chambers against the side of the Ant TowerTM for
better viewing. For larger species, its use is not recommended.
3. Small feeder opening
a. Reduce the chances of ants escaping by only removing the small feeding
cap. No need to remove the entire lid when feeding your colony.

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Features (continued)
b. NOTE: As your colony grows and you have several ants in the foraging
area, it is recommended that you apply an insect barrier around the top
of the foraging area that the ants cannot cross. This will keep them off the
lid completely. A couple of options include making a liquidy paste with
baby powder and alcohol and applying it with a cotton swab or using a
product called Fluon (Insect-a-Slip). NOTE: Make sure to apply the barrier
on the inside surface of the Ant Tower foraging areas as shown below.
4. Cornerless
a. Some ant species can climb through any barrier applied if they have a
corner to navigate. The cornerless design of the new AC Ant TowerTM helps
you as the ant keeper to avoid this problem.
5. Seamless
a. There are no seams or glue used in the construction of the new AC Ant
TowerTM.

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Features (continued)
6. Built-in expansion and connection points
a. The built-in expansion and connection points make it very easy to
connect your new Ant TowerTM to other AntsCanada gear. If you have a
young colony living in a test tube setup, your test tube can be connected
to the Ant TowerTM with the use of the included adapter, or the Valve
Connector in the Deluxe Kit, allowing for a simple way to introduce your
young colony into the Ant TowerTM. As your colony grows, you can also
use our plastic tubing to expand your setup by connecting the AntTowerTM
to more AntTowersTM or other AntsCanada equipment.
b. IMPORTANT: Your Ant TowerTM comes with two built-in connection points.
Remember to block any unused connection points with cotton or an
AntsCanada PlugTM.
7. Microholes in the lid for good air movement.
a. An important aspect of any ant setup is air circulation. Without good air
circulation, you may see mold begin to develop. And of course, all living
organisms need a fresh supply of oxygen to survive.

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Features (continued)
8. Air hose port
a. To allow for even more air movement, your new Ant TowerTM has one air
hose connection point. If desired, you can connect a standard aquarium
air pump to increase air circulation in the foraging area of your Ant
TowerTM.
9. Red Transparent Nest Cover
a. The Nest Cover wraps around the lower nesting portion of the Ant TowerTM
and provides a dark “underground” environment for your ant colony. It is
made of red transparent plastic so it is still possible to view your ant colony
through the cover.
b. The wonderful thing about red light is that many ant species can’t see red
light, so they think they are in darkness. Without the cover, ants may
attempt to block light from entering the nesting area by placing dirt up
against the sides of the Ant TowerTM obstructing your view, but with the
cover in place, they will think they are in the dark.
c. The Nest Cover is easy to remove and replace as well. It is perfectly fine to
remove it occasionally for better observation of your ant colony, but is
best left in place during non-observation times.
d. You may optionally shorten the height of the nest cover by cutting it with
scissors so that it fits just on the lower digging half of the Ant Tower.
10. Strong design
a. Made from clear polycarbonate and ABS plastic. Stands up to dings and
bumps much better.

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Assembly
Your new AntsCanada Ant TowerTM comes fully assembled.
1. The entire lid can be removed. Gently apply upward pressure to one side of the
lid and it will pop off. The small round cap (Food Cap) can also be removed.
2. The base water reservoir can also be removed for cleaning.
Add Soil
Your new AntsCanada Ant TowerTM comes with a bag of soil which you can use as the
digging medium for your ant colony. You may also use a soil mixture of your own
making from your local area. To add your soil:
1. Decide whether you want to use the Nest Reducer or not. As its name implies,
the Nest Reducer reduces the width of the digging area. It can be used for
smaller ant species to force more digging against the side of the Ant TowerTM for
better viewing.
2. Pour in soil up to the top of the inner cylinder or Nest Reducer.
3. Lightly tap the bottom of the Ant TowerTM for a minute or so against a table or
desk to compact the soil. NOTE: Pushing the soil down with fingers or some other
tool is not recommended as it may scratch the inside surface of the Ant TowerTM.
4. Pour a little water into the Ant Tower and let it soak all the way down. Excess
water will drip down into the water reservoir. This will help with soil compaction
and provide a good digging medium for the ants.
5. If the soil level drops too far, pour in more soil to bring it level again with the top
of the inner cylinder.

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Decorate
You can optionally decorate the foraging area of your Ant TowerTM however you’d like.
Here is an example of a decorated Ant TowerTM. You can use pebbles, sticks and leaves
from your yard or purchase an Ant TowerTM Biome Kit from our web shop –
www.AntsCanada.com/shop.
Fully Decorated Ant TowerTM
Add Ants
The last step is to add your new ant colony. While the Ant TowerTM can be used to house
worker ants from a colony in your neighborhood that you collect, it is ideally suited to
house a growing ant colony, complete with an egg-laying queen.
With an egg-laying queen, you can watch the full life-cycle of ants, from egg, to larva,
to pupa, to ant. You can observe the various ant duties being performed and enjoy
watching your ant colony grow from one or two workers to thousands of workers.

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How Do I Get A Queen Ant?
Queen ants are all around you. You just have to know when to look for them and how
to identify them. We have created several video tutorials that can be found in our
AntsCanada YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/AntsCanada
Another option for getting a queen is to use the Global Ant Nursery (GAN) Project.
People who live close to you have already collected newly fertilized queen ants and
will sell one to you.
You can read about it here: https://www.antscanada.com/queen-ants-for-sale/ .
Cleaning the Ant TowerTM
Like any other pet, ants will create messes. Fortunately, they will usually pile their
garbage in the foraging area for you. As the ant keeper, you are responsible to
occasionally do a little clean-up work for them.
We also recommend that the entire Ant TowerTM by thoroughly cleaned with soap and
water at least once a year. Of course in order to do this, your ant colony will need to
move out into another location. A second Ant TowerTM would be ideal for this. Connect
a second Ant Tower and over a period of time, encourage them to move by using light
and heat.
Watch a video tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/user/AntsCanada
NOTE: You must not use boiling water when cleaning your Ant Tower nor should you run
it through a dishwasher cycle. Damage may occur if either of these things is done.

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Expanding Your Nesting & Foraging Areas
As your colony grows, they will need more nesting space and larger foraging areas.
Additional Ant TowersTM can be added as well as dedicated outworlds and other types
of formicariums. Some ant colonies have been known to occupy an entire desk or
table! Providing for the space requirements of your ant colony is another one of your
responsibilities as the ant keeper. There are many options to choose from as you
expand.
You can see a complete set of all AntsCanada gear here:
https://www.antscanada.com/shop/
Two Connected Ant TowersTM
Three Connected Ant TowersTM

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Other AntsCanada Gear
AntsCanada OutworldTM
AntsCanada Hybrid NestTM
AntsCanada Omni NestTM
Air Circulation & Air Hose Port
Air circulation in an ant setup is critical. Since the ants will
leave their garbage in the foraging area, toxic ammonia
can be generated. Proper air circulation removes this
ammonia. Air circulation is also important in keeping
condensation out of your Ant TowerTM which will minimize
the growth of mold.
The air hose port allows you to increase the air
circulation in your Ant TowerTM. This port uses
standard 3/16 inch (4.7625mm) diameter tubing.
Feel free to add a fish air pump to create air
movement within the Ant TowerTM to discourage
mold growth. You can find air hosing and an air
pump wherever you buy aquarium supplies.

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Preventing Escapes
It is common practice to add a barrier to prevent the ants from crawling up the sides of
the foraging area and escaping as you try to
add food, or tidy up the Ant TowerTM. The top
½ inch of the cylinder is the ideal location to
apply this barrier. Some of the more common
barriers include baby powder (sometimes
mixed with rubbing alcohol), fluon, and
petroleum jelly. Apply one of these barriers on
the inside of the foraging area and reapply
when you notice the ants are able to begin
crossing it in certain spots.

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Deluxe Version
The Ant TowerTM Deluxe version comes with some additional goodies for you. We’ll
explain them all for you here.
Red LED Light
The Red LED Light can be placed under the Ant TowerTM in the void created by the
inner cylinder. The small wire attached to the battery case can fit through one of the
two tunnels of the base, allowing the Ant TowerTM to still sit flat on the table or desk.
When turned on, a red light is emitted from the inside making the tunnels, chambers
and all the ant activity much easier to see. Again, the red light is not viewable by ants,
so it won’t disturb or alarm them.
Magnifying Glass
The small magnifying glass can be used to view some of the harder to see aspects of
ant life, like eggs, larva, and ant body parts.
Water Pipette
The water pipette can be used to add water into the base water reservoir or also into
specific locations above ground in the foraging area to recreate a rainy day for your
ant colony.