Finished the epoxy painting:
A couple of thoughts...
-painting that far left clear end panel seems to have absolutely been the right move. It changes the whole dynamic of the tank. It just looks bigger. Especially when viewed from the kitchen and diagonally from that end. Gives it a lot of depth.
In my mind, the idea behind using the dark blue, rock structures, and light distribution was to mitigate the visual effect of those two corners in the tank and offer multiple different visual perspectives depending on which direction one was viewing the tank from. We’ll see how it plays out.
-one thing is evident right away when we view it with light hitting directly, and that is the sort of mountain effect of some sides of the boxes being highlighted by direct light and others sides being more shadowed.
Now, final light placements will have a lot to do with how much that manifests in the end. But it is going to be difficult to eliminate, especially if the goal is to keep as much direct light off those panels as possible.
But...I think I can make the uneven look work for me. Light manipulation, water movement, and structure placement can (again...fingers crossed) give the background a little more of a real open water look...imagine highlights from sunlight being refracted and focalized by wave action, giving the vertical light bars against the deeper blue backdrop that we see in the ocean.
Anyway...the blue backdrop sorta made me fall in love with this tank a little. It’s always amazing how something so minor can change everything.
Overall?
