Tube Town-Starter Nest

The Tube Town is a precision-engineered, fully modular starter nest system designed specifically for founding ant colonies solving several of the most persistent challenges in ant keeping: unstable test tube placement, inconsistent heating, poor humidity control, and limited scalability.

Developed in collaboration with Allen Repashy, Tube Town takes the traditional test tube setup a staple in ant founding and elevates it into a controlled, repeatable, and expandable micro-habitat. Instead of relying on improvised solutions like tape, racks, or loose heat cables, this system provides a purpose-built platform that ensures stability, consistency, and long-term usability from the earliest stages of colony development.

Engineered Stability: No More Rolling or Shifting
One of the most common frustrations with standard test tube setups is their tendency to roll, shift, or lose proper alignment—especially when placed on smooth surfaces or when heat cables are introduced. Tube Town eliminates this entirely through its integrated bottom groove system. These grooves are designed to be punched out as needed, creating clean, intentional channels for routing heat cables directly beneath the tube.
This not only locks the tube securely in place but also ensures consistent contact between the heat source and the tube, preventing uneven temperature zones. The result is a stable, vibration-resistant environment that minimizes stress on the founding queen and her brood.

Precision Heating Without Guesswork
Heating is critical during the founding stage, but traditional methods often lead to overheating, cold spots, or constant manual adjustments. Tube Town allows for controlled, repeatable heating by guiding the placement of heat cables exactly where they’re needed. By maintaining consistent thermal gradients across the tube, keepers can create ideal conditions for brood development while still allowing the ants to self-regulate by moving within the tube.
This level of precision reduces the risk of temperature-related stress and increases the likelihood of successful colony establishment.

Fully Modular Architecture: Built to Grow With Your Colony
Unlike static setups that must be discarded or rebuilt as a colony expands, Tube Town is designed as a modular ecosystem. Each unit can connect seamlessly with others, allowing you to expand your setup incrementally without disturbing the colony.
As your ants transition from founding to growth phases, you can integrate additional modules such as outworld connectors, feeding zones, or additional tube chambers. This eliminates the need for stressful relocations and provides a continuous, adaptable habitat that evolves alongside the colony. The modular design also makes maintenance, cleaning, and reconfiguration straightforward and efficient.

Advanced Humidity and Airflow Control
Humidity management is one of the most delicate aspects of ant care, particularly for species with specific moisture requirements. Tube Town addresses this with a system of interchangeable gates that vary in size and airflow restriction.
By selecting different gate configurations, keepers can fine-tune the balance between moisture retention and ventilation. This allows for precise control over the internal microclimate supporting healthy brood development, preventing mold buildup, and accommodating a wide range of species with differing environmental needs.

Reusable, Clean, and Purpose-Built Design
Every component of Tube Town is designed with longevity and cleanliness in mind. The system is fully reusable, allowing keepers to reset and redeploy it for new colonies without degradation in performance. Its structured design reduces clutter and eliminates the need for makeshift supports, resulting in a cleaner, more professional setup that is both functional and visually organized.

Optimized for Both Beginners and Advanced Keepers
Whether you’re starting your first colony or managing multiple species, Tube Town simplifies the founding process while offering the depth of control experienced keepers demand. It removes common points of failure such as instability, poor heating, and inconsistent humidity while introducing a scalable framework that supports long-term colony success.

In essence, Repashy’s Tube Town transforms the traditional test tube from a temporary, often unreliable solution into a robust, adaptable habitat system providing precise environmental control, structural stability, and seamless expandability from the very first stage of colony life.

Built-In Feeding Solution
Comes with a dedicated feeder module, allowing clean, easy feeding without disturbing your founding colony.

Reusable for Future Colonies
When your colony outgrows the Tube Town, simply clean and reuse it for your next queen making it a long-term tool, not a one-time setup.