Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1 Nest Review
Bruma 5 min read
In short
The Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1 is an escape-proof acrylic nest with 3 zones opened by sliding doors and a 7x7 cm outworld. Its mushroom humidity system, fed by a refillable water tank, works like a charm, but the outworld's top opening is too small for easy feeding and cleaning.
Hi guys! I hope you’re doing well!
Today I’m going to make a little review of this cool ant nest made by the company Anthouse. You can find the nest here!
Let’s see if it’s any good!
General Info
This nest is called Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1, and it’s an acrylic nest. Like many Anthouse products, this nest is made of a series of acrylic layers mounted on top of one another to create the nest's structure.
The acrylic sheets are cut using laser technology and are kept together using six standard bolts. The precision of the cuts has really amazed me. There are no signs of errors on the pieces, and the sheets fit together perfectly!
One cool thing about this nest is that it can be considered totally escape-proof! The acrylic sheets are stacked in a way that completely removes any space between the pieces, making it impossible for the ants to escape!
For this reason, this nest is perfect for every ant species, even the smaller ones! Just like the WaKooshi Saturn nest! This is an amazing nest if you're planning on keeping extremely small species!
The Chambers
The chambers of the nest are reasonably sized and are made in a way that resembles the shape of the ones that the ants make in the wild.
As you may already know, having a nest that is too large with lots of chambers can be quite stressful for a small ant colony. For this reason, Anthouse has decided to divide the nest into 3 main zones in order to give the colony just the right amount of space it needs.
Each zone is separated from the others using these very cool sliding little doors.
With this clever solution, you can decide to expand the nest once the colony has reached a certain size, without the need to attach another nest!
The Outworld
As you can see, this nest also includes a little outworld. The outworld measures 7x7 centimeters and has plenty of space for the feeding dishes and the liquid feeders. On top of it, there is a small opening and a small lid.
To be completely honest, I think that the top opening is a little too small. It makes it very difficult to clean the outworld and feed the ants, even if you are using a pair of long tweezers. Luckily, this nest gives you the possibility of expanding the built-in outworld by connecting an external one!
If you, just like me, need a properly sized outworld to better feed your ants and manage all the trash that the ants produce, I would suggest you check out this other product! This is an amazing outworld made by another great company in this space: Esthetic Ants!
In order to be properly ventilated, the outworld features these extremely narrow ventilation holes.
They create an almost imperceptible airflow, just enough to prevent the formation of mold outbreaks.
The Humidity System
This nest uses a very clever system for maintaining a constant level of humidity inside the chambers. At the center of the nest, we find this very peculiar object.
Anthouse calls this component “mushroom.” As you can imagine, the name comes from the fact that this component, with its unusual and characteristic shape, clearly resembles the appearance of a common mushroom.
As you can see, this component is immersed in the water contained inside this little plastic tank positioned under the main structure of the nest.
This particular type of material is capable of absorbing water extremely easily, transporting it from the little tank to the center of the nest.
To do that, it uses a very common physical phenomenon called capillary action, which enables the water molecules to travel inside the component and reach the inside of the nest.
With this clever solution, the nest remains hydrated for a very long time! Thanks to the water tank, you don’t have to constantly check the humidity level inside the nest, nor do you have to water the nest every couple of days!
I’ve used this nest and this humidity system for some time now, and I can confidently say that it works like a charm!
But how do I refill the water tank under the nest? Fortunately, Anthouse thought about it! If you look closely, there’s a tiny hole in the nest, right on top of the tank.
With this hole, you can refill the water tank from above the nest using a normal syringe, just like I am doing!
Thanks to this little hole, you don't have to lift the nest and cause immense stress to the colony!
Expandability
If the colony has grown to the point that the nest has become too small for them, you can easily expand it by using these particular types of connectors! With this standard 10 mm tube connector, you can easily connect another nest, giving the ants a lot more living space!
If the colony you're currently housing inside the nest has filled all the available space and the new workers are starting to live in the outworld, I think it's finally time for an upgrade! To add some nesting space to your current setup, I would suggest you opt for this amazing Ytong nest made by Esthetic Ants!
This nest is perfect for housing almost every species of ant, and the fact that the main living area is made of Ytong gives this nest an automatic thumbs up!
The Top Lid
If you want, as an additional accessory, you can get this top lid made of red transparent acrylic.
This is perfect for creating a dark and safe space for your colony, as most ant species do not see the red light spectrum! It also covers the sides of the nest, reducing the light that enters the nest to almost zero!
I hope you have found this guide helpful!
If you’re interested in the company and want to check out some other products, you will definitely like my review of the Anthouse Sand Ant Farm 3D L, another Anthouse nest! This one is perfect if you have a larger ant colony and like watching the ants dig tunnels in the dirt!
FAQs
5The Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1 nest is made of acrylic sheets mounted on top of one another, cut using laser technology and held together by six standard bolts. I was amazed by the precision of the cuts: there are no signs of errors on the pieces, and the sheets fit together perfectly.
Yes, the Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1 nest is suitable for every ant species, even the smaller ones. The acrylic sheets are stacked so that no space remains between the pieces, which makes the nest completely escape-proof. I think it's a great choice if you're planning to keep extremely small species.
The Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor nest keeps humidity constant with a component Anthouse calls the mushroom, which sits in a small water tank under the nest and carries water to the center of the nest through capillary action. In my experience it works like a charm, and you don't have to water the nest every couple of days.
Yes, you can expand the Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor nest by using a standard 10 mm tube connector to attach another nest, which gives the ants a lot more living space. The nest is also divided into 3 main zones with sliding doors, so you can open up space gradually as the colony grows.
A top lid made of red transparent acrylic can be added to the Anthouse Acrylic NaturColor nest to create a dark and safe space for the colony. Most ant species do not see the red light spectrum, and the lid also covers the sides of the nest, reducing the light that enters to almost zero.
Product Review
Acrylic NaturColor 20x10x1
A very good rectangle-shaped escape-proof ant nest made of various layers of acrylic, perfect for a medium-sized ant colony. The outworld included in the nest does its job fairly well, providing a good-sized feeding area. With the nest you can also get an extremely useful red lid cover, perfect for creating a comfortable and dark space for your colony! The humidity system is awesome, and provides the nest with a constant amount of moisture!
Author
Bruma
