...bump
So you said there's a drainage layer, I'm assuming you have a few of the 1" PVC laid out flat around the tank? Did you silicone them so they stay in place or are they loose?
I picked up some 1/2" PVC. I think I'm going to lay them flat, maybe disperse some aquarium gravel around in case the bottom layer would be a bit visible, and put egg crate with weed cloth on top of that, and then build up the soil.
I noticed you added a plastic tube, is that what you decided to use for drainage? Do you just attach something to it and vac it up? I picked up a 3/4" coupler I'm gonna silicone down, that way I can just stick airline tubing in it to suck the water up (and I'll cap & hide it with some rock / wood features)
In short, the layers:
1/2" PVC laid flat, aquarium gravel (or LECA) around the PVC
Egg crate with weed cloth
Soil (peat / sand / perlite), plants, features
Thoughts? I went with 1/2" PVC because I don't really want the bottom layer to be that visible, I figure that + egg crate layer should be enough space