My first tank set up with my mom when I was a student. I instinctively realized that wide, shallow tanks were kinda spicy (IYKYK), so I got a custom tank made in Cheonggyecheon.
That tank eventually became an algae paradise, but I liked the vibe. I kept it up diligently like that, I guess. The principle was to blur your vision and view it from a distance.
This is the tank I got when I moved into the newlywed home. My first homemade rear filtration system and power strip box. I used it as both the box and the lid for the filter.
Around that time, the movie Av***ar came out (why is that word banned tho??) and I was captivated by the floating landmasses, so I messed around finding pumice stones that float and secured them with fishing line. Back then, aquascapers were popping up everywhere and Nature Aquascaping standards like Iwagumi were getting popular, but I found structural uniqueness way more fun.
After moving and buying the cabinet, I ran a normal-looking tank for a while. But I got bored and started doing weird modding stuff.
I built and attached a supplemental filter to the main filter. I made a sub-filter containing the heater, diffuser, air stone, and a bit of filter media, and put it in.
And I built a glass box on top of the tank for hydroponic plants, along with lighting.
The water flowed from the bottom filter, through the supplemental filter, through the hydroponic plant area on top, and back into the main tank.
The plants I had planted grew like crazy,
—to this extent. I didn't like the bottom, so I went all-in on a hardscape setup for the base. I built the structure externally and then moved it inside the tank. This is when I first started messing with polyurethane foam. This was the structure layout.
The soft, white interior of the urethane foam... Black urethane foam didn't exist back then. Or maybe I just didn't know about it. Nowadays, black foam is commonly used for terrariums, but it wasn't around then (as far as I knew). But the idea of using urethane foam led to this, and it looked plausible. I filled the center with soil so it could buffer the pH and dissolve nutrients into the water. This was so long ago...
It was red sand on the outside, with soil filling the inside.
It's hard to tell from the photo, but this is a 45 cube. The things I put inside were pretty tall.
I set up the bottom like this. I even set up semi-automatic water changes.
The white line is supply, the clear is drain. All detachable. The drain goes out to the veranda, but it doesn't just get dumped,
It gets dumped through the potted plants.
I set this up ages ago, and I'm still using the 'click' function effectively. Looking back now, my motivation was truly immense;;; Am I crazy or something... Then I wanted a fish rack system.
I thought, 'I love tanks, so why don't I set up a rack system, raise some fish, and make some pocket money?' But while I do love tanks, this was subtly different. I realized I wasn't someone who liked breeding and managing livestock; I was someone who liked tinkering with systems and structures. That's a huge difference... The moment I truly understood this, I realized, 'Ah, this isn't it,' and I ended up getting rid of the rack system ㅠㅠ My wife chewed me out, lol... She was like, 'You said you were going to breed fish and sell them to buy me a handbag!!!' Damn it... ... The rest of the story might be supply without demand, and honestly, I'm super tired now... Maybe next time...
"Everyone is either calling OP 'Key CEO' or teasing him about his wife's lost handbag money, while others deeply analyze his structural tinkerer personality."
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