There were two main reasons why I insisted on living in a house this year. (1) Get a dog and have a nice yard and (2) get a ridiculously large fish tank. Given that I’m in grad school, many of my fellow students rent apartments or live in multi-level buildings where dogs and fish tanks that weigh as much as a full water bed would not be allowed.

I bought that 150 gallon with stand and hood (with T8’s… upgraded those immediately) for $5oo on craigslist. It wasn’t in phenomenal shape, but it was and is mine. My biggest regret was not paying enough attention to realize we’d put it down with the majority of the scratches on the front pane of glass. Given that it took five people to move, and that this mistake wasn’t noticed until after hardscape and water were in place, it’s something I guess I’ll have to live with.

Anyhow, here is my original hardscape:

Here is the tank after a few rounds of adding plants, adjusting some of the hardscape…

And here is my tank today, about six months after the initial setup:

There’s more work yet to be done, and plenty more growing before I’m really happy with the tank. The hardest part of it all is the waiting. Stopping myself from trimming and rearranging constantly was one of my hardest tasks….at least until I got so many other tanks that I don’t have time for much else.