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This started out as an idea to have an exploding wall with painted blocks for a black light to illuminate. When doing research and getting different opinions on “artistic design” aquariums I was directed to @TheCzarista’s thread “ Wonder Woman Themyscira 14g cube “ and I was so inspired and I changed my design, concept (well added to), and lighting. Hulks Escape! Is telling a story, I’m hoping with design, lighting, and decorations the essence of the story is conveyed. An underwater fortress escape, with Gen. Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross In close pursuit!!! As Hulk wreaks havoc on this nuclear facility in a desperate attempt to once again foil the trap set by his arch nemesis. Ok let’s start with the build, first off was a back lighting test. I found basically where he would be placed and placed the light to direct attention as much as possible to that spot. With any other lights on it becomes muted which is exactly what I was looking for. Just a hint of light to give direction not be a focal point. The back wall is made of a fairly dense matten filter pad. I cut grout lines with a knife and then back cut to create depth. I knew I would have an exploding wall so I would have to have blocks of the wall flying through the scene. I came up with egg create that I strapped to my polycarbonate lid after everything was hung. Fishing line down to tooth picks inserted into the blocks. I also skewered a couple pieces with kabob sticks and “planted” them into the substrate. I added fishing weights to all blocks to help keep in their desired location. Interior decorations and equipment. i used crushed coral for substrate thinking it would reflect as much light as possible (and it’s what I had 😁). I flanked the side with heaters to make it symmetrical, I’m only using 1 of them. The sponge filters/ terracotta pots are to represent nuclear power stations with the center one being destroyed by Hulk smashing through. It is flung to the foreground and now leaking radio active material into the sea. The underwater light and air stone coming from the pot should display this well. The submarine in the background is of course what Gen. Thunderbolt is using for his pursuit. The nuclear symbols in the center is one aspect I’m not happy with. I was expecting something different and they are just paper stickers. They will be replaced ASAP. The signs and a few other small adjustments need to be done. Overall I’m happy how it turned out. I’ve never done this type of aquascaping before and would have done a couple things different. The process was fun and challenging in some spots. As for stocking I plan on getting a strong cycle the filters and pots already are seeded with BB so I will add a couple snails and shrimp. After a few days add a couple small fish. I’m also thinking of plants (suggestions?). My original plan was to use my guppies I already have, that changed to buying new guppies. The thing with that is I only want blue guppies and I don’t think it would go well. I’m fairly confident my final decision is some White Clouds. Maybe start with a 10 pack from aquahuna. Hope you enjoyed. Brian from Indiana

I’m gonna be setting up a new style of tank (for me) and it got me thinking about the different styles of aquascaping. Over 30 years most of the time I would buy whatever decorations at the box stores I liked and try to mesh it together. Then I steered towards natural rock and driftwood only tanks, keeping mostly African cichlids it worked best. Now over last year I’m heavily into planted tanks. So what’s your favorite aquascaping style? 1) box store decor = fake plants, fake logs, shipwrecks, castles, ect… 2) natural stone/ wood = real stone or wood only 3) lightly/ moderate planted = some plants some decor fake or natural 4) heavily planted = very heavy plants real wood/ stone all styles included 5) biotope = specific natural environment to mimic or recreate an exact location 6) themed = non aquatic decorations to create a special environment or feel that has little to no natural decor (like they do on the show Tanked a lot) 7) other = other pics if possible! This thread is meant to inspire others to try different styles and go outside their comfort zones. I never thought I would do a themed tank but I really wanted to try something way different than anything I’ve done in the past.