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Saintly's 240L 'savannah dreaming' scape finished

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

saintly said:
George, currently just 2 x 54wt5s osram 8800. I may follow you a little on a 'midday' burst of all 4 to really hammer the HC.

currently on 7 hours daily.
Click to expand...
Cool. Did you decide against the MH then? Or am I getting confused (easily done)? :lol:

The midday burst worked well for my glosso.

I just did it for 7 days, with a 4hr burst in the middle of an 8hr photoperiod. Now I'm back to just 2 x T5 for 8hrs and the glosso is maintaining compactness. I am pruning it weekly to maintain a nice shape so it doesn't get too thick.

I would certainly consider doing something similar if you're not entirely confident about the HC's growth pattern/rate.

If you're keen to get a faster coverage I would also consider pruning off a few HC plants from your clumps and re-planting in-between.

Otherwise just be patient and let it do its thing without too much intervention... It's your call, of course.

I think one of the biggest challenges at this level of aquascaping is figuring out maintenance practices to try and tie-in all the plants' form through appropriate pruning etc. to get them all to complete the invisioned picture simulataneously. This is particularly appropriate if you're entering contests and/or are keen on the photography aspects.

So whether you want to have the HC carpet complete before or after the stem growth, or to tie-in with the crypts etc. etc. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying.... 😉

Personally I quite like maintaining a lawn, so am happy to do this regularly until the other plants have 'caught-up', in particular the slowest species like crypts, ferns, Anubias and moss.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

George Farmer said:
Did you decide against the MH then? Or am I getting confused (easily done)? :lol:
Click to expand...

It had to go, for 2 reasons. the spread was no where near enough for the full 120cm, causing a 'hot spot' in the first 90cm or so (from middle outwards) second, I didn't like the colour rendition of the lamp. I'd like to go the MH route, but at a later date.

Your absolutely right mate, with the whole maintenance thing. this will be, by far, the biggest challenge. The LFS display had a HC carpet for 6 months and looked as flat as pancake in the end. I'll just trim, trim, and trim some more, knowing it's got, to some degree, a longish life span

The stems, are the easy part, in terms of the 'overall' look, that said, there's 1 clump of UK stems, which I just don't know how they'll look in the overall picture 😀

Fully understood sensei :lol:
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

Me, not take pictures? :lol: who am i trying to kid.

The first shot is the sign i look for before trimming liliaeopsis.You can see the runner close to glass.

The light stand isnt bent, it's the camera lens.

runner.jpg

Looking down the tank...

wood.jpg

And a comparison of HC over a few days.

hc.jpg

HC-runner.jpg
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

Hi Mark,
you are using two pieces koralia powerhead.
Their mark is 1 or other number?
What is their flow
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

smik said:
Their mark is 1 or other number?
Click to expand...

i'm using a number 2 rated @ 2300L/PH
and a number 3 rated @ 3200 L/PH

and an eheim rated @ 1500 L/PH

so totalling 7000 L/PH. extreme as it sounds, the flow is just right reaching even the parts of the tank directly underneath the outlets. Co2 distribution on this tank is spot on.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

saintly said:
so totalling 7000 L/PH.
Click to expand...

Would be many people in the Czech Republic consider a this flow is the madness 🙂
I don´t.
They thinks I am crazy 🙂
I used in my 495 l tank:
Eheim 2217 rated 1000L/Ph
Eheim 2075 rated 1300L/Ph
Eheim Compact 1000+ rated 1000L/Ph
Koralia 2 rated 2300L/pH (presently OFF) I am afraid turn on
Thank you for answer
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

I really like that shot of the oto, and the one looking down the length of the tank.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

hydrophyte said:
I really like that shot of the oto, and the one looking down the length of the tank.
Click to expand...

thanks mate

smik said:
Would be many people in the Czech Republic consider a this flow is the madness 🙂
I don´t.
Click to expand...

it's not mad. korolias work in a different way, sucking water in from the whole circumference and then jetting it back into the water, not just from the front, but from the back slightly too.

of a night, I raise both heads so there's major water disturbance for o2 injection. I'll have to do a video to show you.

The water always sparkles in the morning, and the surface is like a mirror. :thumbup:
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

love it. All of it. With such a large turnover of water have you had any trouble keeping the HC planted? And how did you keep it down?
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'

FishBeast said:
With such a large turnover of water have you had any trouble keeping the HC planted? And how did you keep it down?
Click to expand...

i've got a video of the planting. if i get it edited, I'll pm you the link :thumbup:

there's never a problem with HC uprooting if you plant it deep. The flow in this tank, isn't like a washing machine. it's rather gentle, but very consistent through out.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

now that 2 weeks have passed, much of the above water state plants have just about changed. 95% of old leaves have either been trimmed or melted.

The vallis nana is sprouting up from it's original planting position. The HC has gone through a longish transition, but now shows the signs of being 'settled in'.

You can notice to the right, where it doesn't get enough light and has failed. this will have to go, or be re planted with trimmings from this tank.

The stems have done what's expected and should be due a trim next week.

here's how it is at the moment, many months of nurturing is needed.

1-5.jpg

2-weeks.jpg
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

That's looking great Mark. I have been waiting to see it with the plants a little more settled in.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

Cheers Devin. I'm really excited now, with much work ahead. :thumbup:

Fish choice is next on my list, but unlike before, I wont be adding fish too soon.

I want a few varieties of fish in this tank, which centre around a shoal of tetras

I think one more week, now that the HC is crawling, I'll be trimming it along with the stems.
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

Really growing in well! Plant/hardscape shape is really nice.

How do you find surface scum with the lily pipe so low down? I have mine breaking the surface a little which tends to keep it at bay, however I appreciate that this also wastes some of the CO2 I'm pumping in 🙂
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

nry said:
Really growing in well! Plant/hardscape shape is really nice.
Click to expand...

thanks mate

nry said:
How do you find surface scum with the lily pipe so low down?
Click to expand...

only a tiny bit in the day. Co2 seems to induce it.

The powerheads turn the water over near the surface though. evening times, there's intense O2 addition so the waters crystal in 5 minutes. As the whole tank begins to stabilise, surface scum does disappear. :thumbup:
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

Hi, Love the clean look of your scape, yet still heavily planted.

nry wrote:How do you find surface scum with the lily pipe so low down?



only a tiny bit in the day. Co2 seems to induce it.

The powerheads turn the water over near the surface though. evening times, there's intense O2 addition so the waters crystal in 5 minutes. As the whole tank begins to stabilise, surface scum does disappear. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thats a very interesting comment, have been experiencing the same lately since I added extra flow to my tank. I always thought that a mild surface film (of bubbles only) was an indication of something lacking. But clearly thats not always the case.
Thanks, I enjoy catching updates of your journal.
bel
 
Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 weeks

It looks amazing. I can't beleive how fast your plants are growing. Especially the HC, a credit to your experience in this artform.
 
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