Meredith
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just as an update, I am STILL struggling with algae in my planted. I am about ready to rip everything out and start over. Anyway, at lights on this morning (I have an external ballast thingy under my tank) I noticed some ants on a newly added diy co2 bottle. Well considering there is sugar water in there I wan't totally surprised to see them. I killed them and saw a few more crawling around. I have some indoor outdoor bug killer so I went and got that and sprayed around in the back of the tank and under the molding thinking the ants are coming in through a crack or something. To do this I had to take everything out from under the tank. As I am putting stuff back I noticed an ant with a little white egg or larva thing. 8O Where did that come from?? And then I notice the vents on my ballast. So I unplug the whole thing, take it outside, open it up, and yes, I have an ant farm in my light ballast. Queens, workers, babies, eggs, the whole works. TOTALLY Gross right?? I had to completely dismantle the whole thing to get them all out. Luckily there are very few parts and I got everything put back together. I guess the lesson here is make sure there in NO sugar left on the outside of the bottle. Funny thing is, there are no ants anywhere else in the house. The stayed right there under my tank. YUCK!