Pictures of my tanks

I only got to see the first 10 pictures because it wont load on my comp. But I really like the first tanks aquascaping. Pretty cool! One suggestion though, I think it would look even better if you painted a black background on the back. IMO it makes any tank just look clean! Oh, and have you thought of real plants in the tank with all the shells? I think that would look really cool!

nice pictures... I love the alge that builded up on the DIY background for the 80gal tall... looks so natural now... like its real and flows well with the rocks you chose.

So far I have 2 of my tanks with a painted background, When I setup that 29 gal thats against the wall I really regretted not doing so, im slowly working on adding more plants to tanks, so far I have 2 tanks planted, and yes I was going to plant the shellie tank, just needed more plants, problem is they dig alot, I mean alot, even with 2" of sand they will bury a shell so all thats visible is the hole. In the wild they do this more because there is bigger shell dwellers that actually picks up the shell and takes it back it his stock pile of shells. So when I setup this tank a couple months ago I made sure and put a thin layer of gravel first before putting the sand on top of it, so far its worked.

Nice tanks.

Very nice tanks, I would (if I was you) try to concentrate your plants in a designated "plant area in lake tanganyika the plants are only able to take root in areas not heavily populated by shellies or other sand thriving cichlids, that's not to say there are not vast areas of plant life that are used by the cichlids (specifically there fry).

Seems a little weird to go with a set half and half, half sand and shells, and half plants. But maybee a concentration in the back larger on one side then smaller on the other, or perhaps maybee a sizable bunch in the center back. I guess it all comes down to what you like and that's the beautiful part of our hobby. I guess I am trying to relate and say I know where you are coming from, you want the best of both worlds. (I'm trying to set up a rocky and shellie tank in a 29 gallon) so I totaly get it. I'm trying to work it all out in my head and I keep running into roadblocks.
Please keep in mind I enjoy your tanks the way they are.
Anyway I really like your tanks there nice and they say something about you, you are speeking through your work.