I'm sorry for posting so much, but this is another idea that's been in my mind for a while. Probably because I've been to the beach lately and I've seen something like this in the wild . . .
I'm not gonna carry through and do this but what I've imagined is the possibility of aquascaping with not plants but entirely sessile marine invertebrates. Something reminiscent of the Cambrian or Ordovician period before fish became the dominant animals. Think of an aquarium consisting of entirely invertebrate animals; (even the gravel, with it being coral sand?) anemones, feather duster worms, sponges, sea squirts, and/or crinoids lining the "floral" part of the aquarium floor, next to a bed of rock-like clams snugly covering the other part of the tank. (but far enough from the anemones to prevent stinging)
Crawling above closed clam shells would be small gastropods, chitons, and/or limpets perusing the aquarium for bits of food and places to explore, avoiding the anemones and gliding on the inner sides of the tank. They would be the active organisms of the tank. (unless you want to include the fact that anemones can slowly drift to different areas) There would be a few different species of snails and nudibranchs if possible, some vegetarian and some predatory, but only if it were possible. If I really had time and money, I'd use a bigger tank and include an octopus I could interact with more.
As for maintenance, this would require a heavy supply of beneficial bacteria and a great filter. Not something with a strong current, but something able to keep the water clean and churn it. I've seen some device (it looked like this) where outside of the main tank there's a small container with string algae and the aquarium's water looks like it is pumped into it to be "cleaned" and oxygenated by the algae but I'm not sure if this was the purpose. I'd need a lot of ways to keep the water clean including skimmers and frequent water changes and filters, and this is one of the main reasons why I haven't actually done something like this, aside from species conflicts. But if this were to be arranged in a way where it could work, what would your opinions be on such a tank? This is just something that's been on my mind for a while.
I'm not gonna carry through and do this but what I've imagined is the possibility of aquascaping with not plants but entirely sessile marine invertebrates. Something reminiscent of the Cambrian or Ordovician period before fish became the dominant animals. Think of an aquarium consisting of entirely invertebrate animals; (even the gravel, with it being coral sand?) anemones, feather duster worms, sponges, sea squirts, and/or crinoids lining the "floral" part of the aquarium floor, next to a bed of rock-like clams snugly covering the other part of the tank. (but far enough from the anemones to prevent stinging)
Crawling above closed clam shells would be small gastropods, chitons, and/or limpets perusing the aquarium for bits of food and places to explore, avoiding the anemones and gliding on the inner sides of the tank. They would be the active organisms of the tank. (unless you want to include the fact that anemones can slowly drift to different areas) There would be a few different species of snails and nudibranchs if possible, some vegetarian and some predatory, but only if it were possible. If I really had time and money, I'd use a bigger tank and include an octopus I could interact with more.
As for maintenance, this would require a heavy supply of beneficial bacteria and a great filter. Not something with a strong current, but something able to keep the water clean and churn it. I've seen some device (it looked like this) where outside of the main tank there's a small container with string algae and the aquarium's water looks like it is pumped into it to be "cleaned" and oxygenated by the algae but I'm not sure if this was the purpose. I'd need a lot of ways to keep the water clean including skimmers and frequent water changes and filters, and this is one of the main reasons why I haven't actually done something like this, aside from species conflicts. But if this were to be arranged in a way where it could work, what would your opinions be on such a tank? This is just something that's been on my mind for a while.