This one’s a proper special build because I’m finally scaping the most custom aquarium I’ve ever made — an acrylic tank and unit that me and Stefan literally put together with our bare hands. It did leak initially (first-time errors and all that), but I ended up running an acrylic weld bead around the edges rather than silicon, and that sorted it. Acrylic is mega clear, but if you breathe on it too hard it scratches, so I had to change how I normally work — mixing the substrate in a bucket first and being super careful not to drag anything along the front panel. For the scape, I used a massive piece of spiderwood that Dave from Aquarium Gardens gave me years ago (yes, he loves giving me big wood). There’s a bit of chat about “dodgy wood” and that white fungus you can get — so the plan is to be cautious, do lots of water changes early on, and stay on top of it. I went for a triangular composition: clean, contemporary foreground, then a nutrient-rich substrate system at the back (my DIY “power sand” vibe) capped with sand, plus Hacky stone to anchor the layout and hide the practical stuff like weights and glue points. Planting-wise, I started with epiphytes (Java fern Trident, Anubias, buce) and then packed the back with healthy recycled stems from my other tanks — including fast growers like pearlweed and limnophila to help with water quality. The big takeaway: keep it simple, build plant mass early, and don’t be scared to recycle trimmings — it’s one of the easiest ways to get a tank looking mature fast.