Two and a half weeks later, and finally there is some progress worth reporting.
The stand is polyed, the door is almost ready, the lighting started, hardscape acquired, and plants are in!
For substrate, I went with a mixture of soil and eco, capped with more eco. Unfortunately, the soil I have has annoying floating white bits, but I figure I'll just have to net them out when they appear.
Picture of dirt
I'm going really simple with the equipment on this one. Stealth heater, AC 30 HOB filter, and a power head aimed along the back wall. I'm hoping this will prevent stagnation when the plants grow in.
The scape is going to be based around branchy manzanita. Luckily I found a source... I wasn't planning on planting the tank just yet, but I had an opportunity to buy some needed plants I just couldn't turn down. So, now I have a planted tank! A quick trip to the LFS and I got some wendtii red and some sort of ugly floater. I need a good nutrient sponge, so the ugly floaters were necessary, even though they came with duckweed and wolfia
Oh well, what is a new tank without a new duckweed battle looming
Tank with temporary lighting:
Tank with flash:
The big picture:
The manzanita may be subject to change, I'll have to look it over for a few days. I still need rocks, and more crypts! And moss!