The rocks are real ( and cured) except for the tower in the center and the obvious things that are not rocks. and the tank has been set up for about a """year """ I had a 75 gallon 6 months ago and It got cracked while i was moving, so that tank ended up being a 45 gallon until i got the money back up for the 75 gallon and that happened about a week ago, so the 75 has been running for about 5 days, i moved everything over and everyone seems to be back to their happy old selfs. and as for the fake plants, i do agree with the natural look, but my clown fish LOVE those fake nems so its really more for them, but they are making a move into another tank when ever I fish the maroon out of that tank, and they will just have a real one. and the pot is my tribute to the romans, who kept the first aquariums.