Nest Comparison: WaKooshi Venus Nest vs Mercury Nest
Hi guys! I hope you’re doing well!
Today I’m going to compare two great ant nests made by the company WaKooshi: the Mercury nest and the Venus nest! Let’s see which is the best! But before we start with the actual comparison, I want to take a moment to describe the two products very quickly.
The Mercury Nest
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The first of the two nests that we’re going to compare today is called the Mercury nest. This nest is made of acrylic, and it’s based on a test tube setup. That means that the actual nest in which the ants live is, in fact, a very basic test tube setup, considered by most ant keepers to be the gold standard of starter nests.
The main feature of this nest is the little outworld mounted on top of the test tube. This is a very clever solution, in my opinion, as it enhances the usability of the nest by including an outworld while keeping the space it takes on the shelf under control.
If you want to learn more about this nest, I would strongly suggest you check out this review! In this one, I provide a detailed review of this nest, listing the pros and cons of this type of setup!
The Venus Nest
Discount!
Get this extremely cool ant nest on the WaKooshi online shop! Use the discount code BRUMA to get 10% off your entire order!
The other nest in this comparison is made by the same company, and it’s called the Venus nest. As you may have noticed, WaKooshi uses the names of planets as the model names for their nests.
This one has a lot in common with the Mercury but also has some major differences. The Venus is also based on the same very basic setup as the Mercury, but instead of having just one test tube, it has three of them!
In this nest, the test tubes are placed side by side, creating an array of nests. Each test tube has its own little entrance, which connects the nests to the small outworld. The outworld in this nest is a lot smaller compared to the one on the Mercury nest, but it nevertheless does its job swiftly.
Just like for the Mercury nest, I’ve also made a dedicated review for this nest! If you are interested, you can check it out here!
The Company
These are two of the most popular ant nests made by WaKooshi.
If you have never heard of them, WaKooshi is a UK-based company, very popular in the ant-keeping community for their very cool 3D-printed acrylic nests. If you are interested in one of these nests, you can find their online shop at www.wakooshi.com.
The Comparison
To determine which of the two nests will be the winner, I will assign a point to only one of the two products in five different categories: price, build quality, features, aesthetics, and expandability. At the end of the comparison, the nest with the most points will be the winner!
Let’s start with the first category!
Price
At the current date, the Mercury nest is a little more expensive than the Venus on the WaKooshi online shop. The price of the Venus is currently £16.95, or €20.95 if you live in a country that uses the euro.
On the other hand, the price of the Mercury is £21.95, or €26.95. With a difference in price of just £5, the Venus is a bit cheaper compared to the Mercury.
Given that functionally the two nests are very similar, the point in this category goes to the Venus!
Build Quality
Both of these nests are built using 3D printing technology, a very modern technique used to create acrylic parts. This technology uses an additive process that creates the acrylic components by depositing various layers of material one above the other.
I have to admit that the 3D printing quality on both of these nests is extremely good! There aren’t any signs of smudges or errors caused by the 3D printer, and the surfaces are really well-made!
If you, like me, really enjoy 3D-printed ant nests, I would suggest you take a look at this other nest! This one is made by the same company and is perfect if you have a larger colony!
The acrylic panels available on both nests are also made with very high-quality materials, and the cuts are extremely precise. The acrylic panels of the outworld and the red covers are very clear, facilitating the view of the ants inside the nest.
Given that both nests are made with the same 3D printer, this could be considered a tie! However, some of the pieces of the Mercury have really amazed me, and for this reason, the point for this category goes to the Mercury!
Features
Now to the features. Both nests offer lots of very useful features. They both have an outworld, a red lid cover, and both are based on the most trusted nest system: the test tube setup.
The three main differences between the Mercury and the Venus are the outworld size, the number of test tubes, and the additional liquid feeder that we find only on the Mercury.
The outworld of the Mercury nest is a lot bigger, and with its larger opening, it makes it a lot easier to access the inside and feed the ants.
Another useful feature that is present only on the Mercury is a little test tube-based liquid feeder.
With this feeder, you can provide the ants with a constant source of various types of sugary liquids, an amazing upgrade compared to the more classic liquid drop in the feeding dish.
Thanks to these additional features, the point for this category goes to the Mercury!
Aesthetic
Personally, I like both nests. They are very different from any other nests that you can find on the ant-keeping market, and they are also very functional.
However, the little outworld of the Mercury catches the attention. It is really well-made, and with its included liquid feeder and 3D-printed lid, it easily outshines the one that we find on the Venus, both aesthetically and functionally.
So for this category, I can confidently give the point to the Mercury!
So far, we are at 1 point for the Venus and 3 for the Mercury! Let’s continue with the last category!
Expandability
When it comes to expandability, the Venus easily wins. From what I’ve seen, the Mercury nest doesn’t have an option for expandability, and if there is, you probably have to buy a special connector separately.
On the other hand, the Venus has a dedicated auxiliary port made especially for this reason.
Through this little door, you can connect a bigger outworld or a larger nest, giving the ants a lot more nesting space.
For this reason, the final point goes to the Venus!
Conclusions
The verdict is in! The Mercury wins this competition with just one point more than the Venus!
I hope you have found this product comparison helpful!
If you liked this tutorial and you love making DIY projects, I would strongly suggest you check out this tutorial!. In this one, you will learn how to build a Ytong nest all by yourself!
FAQs
The Mercury nest has a larger outworld and additional features like a liquid feeder, while the Venus nest has three test tubes and an auxiliary port for expandability.
The Mercury nest is currently priced at £21.95, while the Venus nest is priced at £16.95, making the Venus cheaper.
Yes, both nests are built using high-quality 3D-printed acrylic materials.
The Venus nest has a dedicated auxiliary port for connecting larger outworlds or nests, while the Mercury does not have this feature.
The Mercury nest won with a score of 3 points to the Venus's 2 points.
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