[MonarchzMan]

I agree, I've seen a number of tanks that are uninspiring. As well as a number of tanks that are overdone. Personally, I think the best tanks are some of the simplest, but well planned. You can have a very fine tank with moss, a few vines, and a couple broms. It's all dependent on how it is set up. In fact, I am more often than not, more impressed with those simpler tanks because they more accurately mimic natural conditions. My favorite tank of mine is my buttress tank, and I only have two broms (which have pupped), some moss, and a couple of vines. It's simple and elegant in its simplicity.

And I think that that is probably the biggest issue folks have is that they have not planned out the hardscape and where to put plants. In my experience, the most planning is dealing with the hardscape and visualizing how the tank will be finished before it's planted.

 

[MonarchzMan]

I think this is the rudest post I've ever read on here.
First, what gives you the right to come on here and put other people down? Second, you have no idea about other people. Maybe they don't have much money and do what they can. Maybe they don't have much artistic talent. Maybe they never read that apparently there is a rule that it has to mimic the particular species habitat. Maybe they don't live near a nursery where they have access to many types of plants. Maybe they're 12 and just wanted to get frogs and didn't care about impressing other people. Maybe they were given frogs and had to come up with something quick. You have no idea. People like you don't even try to think about any of those possibilities, you just let the words fall out of your brain onto the keyboard.

Can you please let us all know the "right" way to make a viv?

But what gets me the most upset is that people might actually take pride in what they've done. What they've accomplished. They are proud of themselves and want to show what they've done, and you tell them it looks like crap.

I would like to go on, but I'm getting angrier by the moment. I've reported this post.

Calm down a bit, man. If you're happy with your viv, who cares what a random stranger on the internet says about it?

Viv building is an art form, for sure, and the more one gets into it, the more one tends, and has opportunity, to experiment and try new things. It's a constant process. My favorite viv is a concrete viv, which is something I've not made in several vivariums. The one I made after that was another concrete viv, that I tore down, and tried some epiweb stuff and a drip wall to get moss going. I haven't tried that since, since I haven't figured out a way I can utilize it in the way that I want. The viv after that one, I created foam rocks with a drip wall. This last viv I am currently making is foam rocks without a drip wall.

It's all about experimentation and I'm constantly redoing my methods. If you're looking for visual aesthetics in your viv, I imagine you should also view vivarium building as an evolving process. I remember my first vivarium, which I was very proud of when I made it, and in retrospect looking at it, it was very basic and fairly visually unappealing. If you're into a visual environment for your viv, you should have this view. Otherwise, you're never going to improve upon your style.

 

[MonarchzMan]

Folks should just calm down. I honestly don't know why the OP's age was even called into question. Who cares?

It still comes down to pretty much random strangers saying things about your viv on the internet. Who cares? If you happy with it, don't let someone whom you don't even know, ruin your sense of accomplishment.

Personally, I have noticed a lot less of the artistic side of things, which is disappointing to me. I've seen breeders who have tanks that are pure function and no artistic quality. They're so functional, to the point, that the glass gets covered in algae and you can't even see inside. At that point, I don't see why one would even bother having plants. Just toss in some coco huts and film canisters. And if that's your prerogative, so be it, but personally, I don't see why you would build a viv for the purpose of just being a functional if the purpose is to look at it. Might as well try to make it look visually appealing as well as functional.