[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks SaltySully! I look forward to showing progress. It's been a pleasure talking grasses with you!

Thanks Dawn. Getting seagrass to bloom is a pretty lofty goal, for sure! I'm hoping to parlay my four years of experience with them into further progress, so I think it's possible. In v1, it took a looooong time for them to get established. I went very slowly into dosing and substrate fertilizing. It was all new ground for me. This time I have a better idea of what to expect and what I can do to help. So I have high hopes!

Progress! Today I repainted my fake mangrove roots. I wasn't that happy with the original color. It came out too light and too grey. This time I went with a dark brown to black color. I'm hoping they will look more realistic. Assuming all went well, I'll add a mat clear coat and seal up some spots with silicone sealant. And that should complete the root phase! I was really worried I wouldn't be able to fix it, and I'd have to abandon it. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it's gonna make it.

What's next? I guess it'll be mounting the wave box and doing the fake wall thing. I'm not looking forward to messing with that foam stuff, but again, now that I've done it before, it seems less daunting. If I do it well, it should look a lot better, and much more natural.

Slowly but surely, it's coming along…