Saintly's "pastel Shades" The Return

[AdAndrews]

absolutely stunning mark.

 

[bagu]

im speechless

that Ram picture is f****** amazing mate! can i have it ?

awesome mate! love it

 

[lljdma06]

I see another fan of A. reineckii. One of my favorite plants and yours has a nice color. Underused IMO. You use it very well, and I like how it peaks just over the wood.

llj

 

[saintly]

I see another fan of A. reineckii. One of my favorite plants and yours has a nice color. Underused IMO. You use it very well, and I like how it peaks just over the wood.

llj

yes, a lovely plant. i've never grown it before and i've been itching to try it. I'm not disappointed neither. the new growth is stunning. such a deep red.

 

[BigC]

Your a God saintly
That tank looks absolutely amazing.
I'm gonna have to have a chat with you sometime
ATB
C

 

[saintly]

look forward to it big C

here's my fish of choice...

 

[mixmaster jay]

that looks bloody fantastic mate well done

 

[BigC]

Great minds think alike
The Black Phantoms go very well with a large shoal of Cardinal Tetra in my opinion
but again it's knowing just where to stop so as you don't detract from the scape.
Less is more so to speak
Great work and I'll read your topics to gain knowledge on how you actually sustain these aquariums from an equipment point of view.
ATB
C

 

[bagu]

amazing mate, amazing!

jeeez makes me want to make a planted tank with shrimp and a betta lol xD

 

[lljdma06]

Don't add Cardinals, you'll detract from the A. reineckii focal point and eliminate some of the red from the plant, which is something I don't think you want to do. They also represent conflicting reds, not complimentary ones. It will clash. The Black phantoms are perfect.

Stunning tank, how long do you plan on keeping this one up and running?

llj

 

[saintly]

thanks everyone.

i plant to keep this scape for as long as the stems will allow, i see a good 5 months. it could be ready in 3 but i'll give it 5

 

[lljdma06]

thanks everyone.

i plant to keep this scape for as long as the stems will allow, i see a good 5 months. it could be ready in 3 but i'll give it 5

Then what happens?

 

[saintly]

thanks everyone.

i plant to keep this scape for as long as the stems will allow, i see a good 5 months. it could be ready in 3 but i'll give it 5

Then what happens?

i start over with a new design. this is the most fun part for me. creating a new layout. BUT....i'll do it in my 120cm optiwhite. you see, this is a practise tank to grow new plants and see what they do.

and yet another image....

 

[lljdma06]

Beautiful image.

i start over with a new design. this is the most fun part for me. creating a new layout. BUT....i'll do it in my 120cm optiwhite. you see, this is a practise tank to grow new plants and see what they do.

Hmmmm. Now I'm curious and please don't take offense at what I'm about to say. I love your tanks and the layouts are always great, but have you ever thought about scape development in terms of years rather than months? It interests me to see what plants would do in the long run. Leaving my crypts a lone for over a year, caused them to grow very dense and the effect is similar to a lawncover. I wouldn't have that result if had I stripped down and redid the scape every 3-5 months. Perhaps because I do low-light, everything just goes at a slower pace and scapes last longer. My A. reineckii lasted about 2 years in IL and I finally just got tired of the plant in 2008. About three years total, give or take a couple of months and that's a stemplant, so I'm not quite understanding you when you say "as long as the stems allow". Is this pertaining to growth or longevity? Do they die-off after a time, or grow differently, or grow too unruly?

Thank you for your patience with regard to my questions.

 

[saintly]

That's a brilliant question lljdma06. i've been asked this but not in the way you have

here's goes...

Q. have you ever thought about scape development in terms of years rather than months?

A. yes many times, but in my high tech systems which include double dosing EI, co2 and high light plants grow extremely quick. for example in this tank i had to cut A. reineckii in the first week and a half.
I get a buzz or a satisfaction almost from the quick growth of plants and the "instant" effect is brings within the scape.

Q. so I'm not quite understanding you when you say "as long as the stems allow". Is this pertaining to growth or longevity?

A. I'm not sure if your aware, but i did a scape for my local LFS. (i'll add pic) now this scape contained rotala rotundifolia. i maintained this tank for 6 months. the stems required several trimming sessions to get the desired effect, but then came the time when lower portion of stems became ugly. I had the foresight to hide the lower parts with blyxa, but soon the undesirable part became visible ultimately producing an unsightly line. they never grew unruly,the trimming saw that they were uniform and tidy at the crowns.

with this quick turnover, customers did make me aware that they loved to watch the scape "grow" over a short period of time.

of course, with a tank design that has layers (stems) lets say the Dutch style, it would be possible to keep stems for much longer, and I know it's possible. but as amano says, don't use stems in a long term scape.

this is a long term scape i've done for the same shop....no stems.

Another point for my fast turnover is the fact that it gives me the chance to learn many plants and there effects very quickly. so I can take this knowledge into future scapes.

One last point is, if I tried a long term scape at home, it would slow my learning down considerably unless I had several tanks....which i don't...i wish!n (hence the LFS tanks to help me learn)

I'm sure i've missed things off here lljdma06, but I think you'll get where I'm coming from. there's some great questions you've asked and if i think of other things I'll add them.