One thing that I don't think Erik gets enough credit with is his originality. I like Tom Barr's post of the stages of the Aquatic Gardner. I am at the stage of trying to figure out how to grow the plants and not deal with algae. Then there is the aquascaping stage. I think Erik is one of the few people in the country that is at the stage after that. That is, I think Erik pushes the envelope in terms of his layout ideas. When I saw this tank the first time, I loved it. I was so surprised that it didn't place that I got a few people to vote so that it would win the popular choice. It just seems like Natural aquariums are considered the ideal, and anything that veers from that path is look down upon. Take for example his 2003 entry. I collect pics of aquascapes that I run across on the web. I've never seen a layout like this,
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