Here are the specs for this tank:
Tank: 18 gals. tall (approx. 24 x 10 x 18 in)
Light: Coralife 96 watts quad (I think the effective light output is barely 40-50%)
Filter: Old style Fluval 204 (flow is slower than the new 204's)
Substrate:
3M Quartz, Fertiplant, ADA PowerSand, ADA AquaSoil
Rocks: Non reactive, very heavy, dark grey when wet. It seems that they are one of the common kind of stones used to prevent erosion of railroad tracks.
Plants: The plan is to have E. tenellus, HC or Glossostigma for mid and foreground and Cyperus helferi or a similar long leaved plant on the back.
General view, the light fixture is elevated about 2 inches. Note the scratches in the top left of the front glass. They are a result of careless use of a green scrubbing sponge meant for dishes.
Looking dead center at the tank the rockwork seems too low. I still toy with the idea of filling the tank half way and having floating and emersed plants visible above the surface:
But looking from above I'm very happy with the placing of the rock - the 2 sides are appear similar but it's hard to pinpoint the similarities:
Looking straight down:
Wet 3M Quartz:
The shape of the 3M Quartz. The material doesn't seem to have edges sharp enough to cut - stirring it with my bare hand while rinsing didn't hurt. Also the quartz is very heavy - just like with garnet planting will not be a problem.
3M Quartz gets completely black when wet. The gray is a dry area of the quarts. The AquaSoil is lightest. The rocks get much darker when wet:
--Nikolay
18 gal. tall 
Linear Mode
