The outside of the tank is really coming together now. The artificial stone has been applied to the lower portion, below the bar. This gives the bar that "floating" appearance that I was hoping for.
I used rounded "stream" stones as I hoped they give the impression of being rounded by water. They actually had a simulated coral stone, which was kind of tempting, but it only came in rectangular bricks...which I didn't like.
For anyone thinking of doing this, it will cost more than you think. Money can be saved by doing the work yourself, or choosing non-round material. The trouble with round stones is that you don't want to cut and chisel much because you loose the rounded look. That means a lot of picking, choosing, planning to ensure to get a nice balanced look. Also, if you want the stones fitting tightly, you'll use more stones than estimated.
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the result. It's really coming together now.
(sorry about the backscatter on the photo, it was a dirty job and I had just completed vaccuuming...)
