I've taken the plunge. On Wednesday, I purchased Marineland's Eclipse System Six, a 6-gallon tank. My original plan was to go with a 2g, which I bought and then reserved for Honegger's hospitalization. Then, I was going to get a 3g so it would fit on my desk. After talking with my roommate and electing to setup the new tank in the living room on a built-in wall shelf, I upped the capacity to 6g. I also bought a 10g bag of Red Sea's Florabase for substrate.

Also on Wednesday, I ordered PlantGuild's CO2 Vortex Reactor. I'll still need to get some tubing and a CO2 tank. I admit to being a little nervous about my first CO2 system, but Takashi Amano's Nature Aquarium World has been a constant source of inspiration.

Today, I went a step further by buying my plants. For some reason, that's been the most difficult part of the decision-making process. Will I get the right plants? Will they look as stellar when I receive them as they do in product photos? I found a dealer of aquatic plants in Arizona, of all places. From what I can tell, they have the best selection of hard-to-find and exotic flora. Here's what I ordered:

10 specimens of Narrow-leaf Dwarf Subulata

6 specimens of Glossostigma

5 specimens of Japanese Fan

10 specimens of Riccia

1 specimen of Crinum calamistratum

Finally, from a medical supplies wholesaler in Florida, I purchased a pair of long surgical forceps and a pair of long surgical scissors, per Amano's recommendation.

Right now, I'm boiling/soaking a lovely piece of Malaysian driftwood so that it's ready next week when the plants and other supplies start arriving.

My poor little credit card is hot to the touch.