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OK, so after a couple weeks of going through countless images and videos of different aquascapes and having conversations with @Callan and @neo-2FX I've come to the conclusion that I will next look into an Iwagumi set up with a Hemianthus Callitrichoides (HC) carpet started in a dry start method (DSM), seeing as some of you know I have little patience I figure that doing a DSM Iwagumi HC carpet is a smart move as I won't have to do anything at all besides spray the scape once or twice a day until I am at the point where I am happy to fill the tank. In regards to aquarium stone/rocks, what would be wise to use, not to use, something that won't make the pH jump like has happened in @neo-2FX's tank, he and @Callan suggested lava rock, what other rocks would be wise to consider also? The tank I will be using is the trusty ol' Mr Aqua 3ft bookshelf, 90cm x 24cm x 21cm from memory, filter is a Eheim 2213, light is a BeamsWork 90cm LED, again I think it's 24w and will look at 8 to 10 hours each day of running time, with the tank covered in cling wrap. Substrate will be either left over Fluval Shrimp Stratum I have, or I could get a bag of CaribSea Eco Complete. When it comes to shrimp, I'm thinking I might just go back to the ever reliable Red Cherry Shrimp and keep them seeing I haven't had much luck with Crystal Reds and Chameleons. Thoughts about what I've said above? Any tips? Pointers? All welcome, cheers.

So, I had to cancel plans to create an outdoors emersed aquatic plant set up in the back yard but I still have hope to do this in the near future, so thought I'd ask some questions, get some feedback and learn something a long the way. I was going to use a large clear storage container with lid to place the substrate and plants in, substrate was going to be Eco Complete, I was going to mist once or twice each day. Plants I was going to attempt were Anubias nana rhizomes, Bolbitis heidelotii rhizomes, Pogostemon helferi, Needle Leaf Java Fern rhizomes, Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini', Glossostigma elatinoides, the AR 'mini and Glosso were sent before I could cancel the orders so they should be here in a day or two, just not too sure what to do with them now, seeing I have closed all tanks down. Now, time for questions... 1. Should I stick with an aquatic substrate for doing this emersed set up? or could I use normal potting soil? 2. With rhizome plants, should I just sit them on top of the soil, or should I glue/tie them to rock/rock/driftwood? 3. Do I just keep the soil moist, or do I fill the tub up so only the soil is under water to the same level as the substrate, or slightly over? 4. Should they be kept in full sun, or part sun/shade? 5. When misting, is it OK to use normal tap water, or does it need to be treated, also, could it be possible to mix a fertilizer in with the water being misted? 6. Instead of substrate or potting soil, could those hydroponic balls be used to plant the plants into? 7. How long a light period should it be exposed to light? 8. I have mosses, Weeping, Subwassertang, I was thinking of seeing how they went, should they just be placed on a rock/stone or sat in a container of water? As I said above I have AR 'mini' and Glosso on it's way as it was sent before I could cancel and am not too sure what to do with it now, I could perhaps just plant it in the tank I have outside sitting on the outdoor setting table that has Blyxa Japonica, Weeping Moss and Subwassertang in, or should I just start a poor man's emersed set up with the AR 'mini' and Glosso?