40 Gallon Community Journal

[Newman]

Hello,

I have this 40 gallon community tank right now, and I need some help making it look more interesting. I started working on it recently.
Current FTS:



The tank used to be planted a year ago or more. It had several planted phases. Here is a look into the past:


And then:



Then:



And now it looks like garbage.

I tried going full out planted; after a year or two of high maintenance, I tried simplifying it with just a hardscape, and then i wound up simplifying it even more into the form you see today. The problem now is that i think it looks downright bad lol.
I am hoping someone has advice and suggestions on how to make my tank look better!
Maybe a large amazon sword in the middle instead of the lily?
The tank is a weird shape - its a flat-back hex, so its very hard to scape well. very narrow Hard to create depth...
Also the lighting changed to a simple 18W T8. Used to be 79W T5s in its planted days.
Ignore the breeder net. raising some pleco fry in there temporarily. This tank does have a breeding pair of BNs.

Thanks for any advice and suggestions guys!