George Farmer said:
Very nice, Tom.
The Staurogyne/Blyxa combo is a bit different, maybe a bit too regimented for some, but I like it.
The wood looks spotless for a mature tank. Testiment to your plecs!
Yes, I agree.
I went around a few times with the idea, but like simpler layouts at larger scales, easier to care for design and layouts. I could add texture and some variety here and there easily, but the shading of the wood and lower light are more important for myself. Adding some more "natural" look might be a goal of some aquascapers, however, as an aquarist, there's a lot more to aquariums than merely aquascapes. I chose this based on the plants and ease of care here, not anything to do with design some much, that's a secondary consideration actually, always has been with me.
If I added some textures around the base of the wood, different background and had a more sloping lay of the tank from the focal point, I would get more "points". However, that assumes I actually care about such points and scaping rules.
Some of my other tanks have the more natural feel and less ordered look, and another has a more garden textured look.
My taste might change and I might neglect things from time to time.
Still, I pick at the tank, the plants, the fish, the filtration, the current patterns, the design etc and change it to better suit my goals.
This tank is much easier than most tanks folks have.
And it's a heck of RCS and stem plant farm, making about 100-200$ a month these days. More than enough to pay for it's electrical/chemical cost. But not labor..........
So that(labor) was minimized.
You also are only seeing part of the tank at a slightly off angle. Reflections are bad at that time of day, could had waited I suppose. The "pleco pen" is a stack of wood in the darkest corner, but I can still see them and check on them if need be.
They gnaw, but not that much really, and the tips and spikes of the wood are where the BBA would start and stay if the CO2 was bad. They cannot/do not gnaw on those areas. It's(some BBA) happened before when I was at the other place. I like my wood, I'm not going to cover it up. I display it in it's full glory. When I do a water change, I can easily dribble Excel on those tips etc and kill any algae, but it's a hassle to do. Still, it's an option if I had to.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Plants looks awesome. 
