# Saintly's 'savannah dreaming'



## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

well, time for another journal!

I've finally got my tank home, after it being in someone else's house. I can now finally do a tank of my own. The last 4 have been either public, or in a relatives house.

I've done a little bit of DIY, plumbing in, cabinet surrounds etc.




























i've also installed back lighting which consists of 1 x 54wt5 tube.

The base of the scape is seryiou stone.










and the wood is manzianata wood from the states.










here's how the 2 combine.










plant list coming soon.

mark


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## pminister (Jan 15, 2009)

Looking good already.......Are those ATI TEK LIGHTS ?


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

thanks pminister. no there from arcadia. the 4 x 54wt5 version. I'm may consider using 1 x 150w MH though


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Hardscape looks nice! Look forward to see it planted.


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## JapanBlue (Mar 12, 2009)

Nice start!


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## billb1 (May 29, 2009)

Very nice!
I really liked your stone arrangement - it would have looked fine even with out the manzinita. I'll be following your build thread. What plants will you use?


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

that would make a nice igwaumi also 

very nice


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## alang (Jan 28, 2010)

Geez, no plants and it already looks awesome! This is the exact style of setup I want to do on my next tank (summerish I hope). Will defiantly be following this thread!


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## MiKlo (Jun 20, 2008)

Good hardscape!!

When do you start planting??


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## goldier (Feb 13, 2010)

Wow, nice focal point! What substrate are you using?


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Very nice. What size is the tank?


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

thanks for the input folks. 

I'm still undecided on the planting, but i'll let you know once i've decided.


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

Plant list as follows

HC
E. Tenellus
Lilaeopsis
Java moss on stones
Rotala rotundifolia :shock: grown in a different way :wink:
M Umbrosum
Vallis Nana bunch
crypt bullosa
crypt petchii
Bolbitus
crypt nevellii
microsorum 'narrow'
undultas green


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## jeremy1 (May 6, 2007)

Hmmm. Rotundifolia, what do you have in mind? Nice job on the hard scape.

Cheers,
Jeremy


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

OK, i'm all planted now 

during filling



















and next day.










updates to follow.


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

here's a couple of stem shots from the back of the tank.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

can we get a shot of your E. Tenellus please.


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

A little update.

I've trimmed old liliaopsis leaves, as new ones start to develop.










HC is doing good also.

4 days ago










today










and the view from down the tank










water change









i've also added 6 ottos and 12 amano shrimp. all busy at work


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

not to everyones liking then.


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## Shurik (Mar 22, 2008)

saintly said:


> not to everyones liking then.


Very much to my liking then, I am only dreaming about something close to this! 
What is the tank size you got? I really love it!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Nice hardscape!


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

lol Saintly your scapes are intimidating to us. We are compelled by how your plants look so healthy and the hardscape looks very well planned.  Your photos are just awesome! The stones have a nice contrast with the dark green of the Java Ferns. 
As for criticism on the tank, I will admit I feel a bit overwhelmed by the hardscape mixed with so many plants being grown. I was wondering have you thought of making it more simpler? Actually what I think would be cool is maybe have one side thriving, maybe even overwhelmed by plant mass and on the other side possibly have a lesser amount of plants growing, but instead having a bare hardscape with plants fighting to thrive. It may be hard to picture this happening in a tank, but I think the tank is lacking a theme. It is hard for me to explain what I mean but please don't take my words in the wrong way though it a great scape. But I really think once the plants grow in it will look awesome.  Your scapes seem to be generations beyond me! Let me know what you think!


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## svenhipsta (Dec 16, 2009)

you tank is utterly stunning.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

what kinda light are you using??


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## PeterE (Feb 9, 2010)

That tank looks just about perfect to me, hardscape wise. You could have just put the rocks in their and left it with some HC and it would have been a brilliant iwagumi. I love the manzanita with it. Simplicity wise, I like it the way it is, with the shorter plants on the sides of the tank being somewhat crowded. All in all, I think it's a great tank. I love your selection of plants.


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Absolutely incredible. 

That is all.


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

cheers folks 

light wise, I'm using an arcadia unit fitted with osram skywhite 880 tubes rated @ 8000K

here's the tank @ 22 days.


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

A 5 week update.

The stems have gone through 2 rounds of trimming in just 4 weeks. A few issues with the right side regards to co2 etc, but I'm over that now and everything is growing good now.

here's how the tank is looking @ 5 weeks. The stems have just been trimmed so it looks slightly wrong at the moment


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## simwiz (Apr 1, 2010)

Grade A+!!!


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

thanks simwiz.

here's a few other shots. Still early days for this tank, but things are settling in.


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## MiKlo (Jun 20, 2008)

Great layout!!
Really love the way your wood is placed!


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

Tank is amazing. The hardscape is really nice, and i like the look of the stems behind the driftwood, with the low rocks in front of it. The hc looks great, i wish mine grew like that. 

Great job


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## arowanaman (Jun 14, 2006)

This is such a well put together tank I love how balanced it looks. BTW i think I have the same studio lighting as you are those the Excalibur 3200's


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks guys.

arowanaman! i've always been a fan of your work, so high praise indeed. thanks

I use the bowens 200w heads. I've got just 2 but I'll need maybe 5 to photograph this tank properly.

here's a couple of images using just the 2 lights.


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

WOW.. I love your photos. The lighting and texture are great and I feel like I'm swimming with the fishes!


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