Saintly's "pastel Shades" The Return

[saintly]

thats a beautiful tank, how much so far has it cost for you to set up and run?

good question. the plants cost me about £40. but i do get discount. full retail would cost about £100. yes it's a lot for a 60cm and it is possible to do it with far less plants but i like to fill it from the off.

the lighting would cost £200
tank optiwhite £160?.....ish
stand......£30
lighting bar cost about £35 which i made myself

filter is a 2028 @ maybe £100

Oliver knott substrate is £40

i have to say the Nature soil is just amazing! water clarity and plant growth is just immense.

this isnt the cheapest set up, but it's a system i'm confident in. ultimately though maintenance is king in any set up

hey, cheers to adandrews too. glad i can help to inspire

 

[saintly]

A couple of inmates

 

[AdAndrews]

are you using oli knott fine, or the normal stuff?

 

[saintly]

are you using oli knott fine, or the normal stuff?

the normal stuff Ad!

 

[AdAndrews]

are you using oli knott fine, or the normal stuff?

the normal stuff Ad!

ok, im still deciding wether to go for the normal or the fine stuff for a 40cm nano, i think the fine may be better, but it will be covered i think the only reason i may get fine is becuse if it is easier to plant in, but still for £10 i will probably just go for the normal.. what do you rekon mate?

 

[FishBeast]

You take such beautiful pictures. Do you have a good camera?

 

[saintly]

You take such beautiful pictures. Do you have a good camera?

firstly, thanks

i use a canon 5D with various lenses. i've also purchased studio lighting (flash) so i'm still learning new techniques for photographing under water. Amano is my hero.

here's the latest addition. a pair of rams. i aim to get much better images though, a little more creative maybe....

are you using oli knott fine, or the normal stuff?

the normal stuff Ad!

ok, im still deciding wether to go for the normal or the fine stuff for a 40cm nano, i think the fine may be better, but it will be covered i think the only reason i may get fine is becuse if it is easier to plant in, but still for £10 i will probably just go for the normal.. what do you rekon mate?

to be honest there would be no difference in using either fine or normal with regards to planting. ultimately the choice is yours. plants will grow the same with either

 

[bagu]

that picture is bloody fantastic! WOW!

 

[saintly]

that picture is bloody fantastic! WOW!

thanks bagu

My right corner is going to be a challenge! I've got tennellus runners all over the place, the HC is doing what it should, the marsilea sprouting out and e acicularis spreading....pretty soon it's going to merge :? let it grow out?.....see what happens kinda a deal i guess!

Here's yesterday before trim....

and here's today after yesterdays trim...

the Alternanthera reineckii was trimmed 2 days before...it had reached the top

The left and right side stems should be due a haircut just after the weekend

 

[aaronnorth]

definatley let the plants merge, looks very mature for just 2weeks!

 

[AdAndrews]

definatley let the plants merge, looks very mature for just 2weeks!

do you "sharpen" the pics mate? what program do you use to edit them, i would love to get into the whole photography game.

 

[aaronnorth]

definatley let the plants merge, looks very mature for just 2weeks!

do you "sharpen" the pics mate? what program do you use to edit them, i would love to get into the whole photography game.

Mark uses software which you have to buy (photoshop & RAW program i think), i use GIMP which is a basic program like photoshop and there is actually very good tools on it for free!
http/www.gimp.org/

 

[bagu]

looking brilliant after the trim =]

 

[saintly]

looking brilliant after the trim =]

thanks,

this coming weekend see's trimming of stems. previously I'd trimmed some of them. Alternanthera reineckii, eustralis stellata and r rotundifolia were the first to hit the surface, so they were trimmed one week ago and are now growing back.

a few images....the tank @ almost 3 weeks old!

__________________
many thanks

 

[saintly]

one last image...