Time to show the progress!
Here's a quick pic of the repainted, fake mangrove root, not to be confused with the creatures from "War of the Worlds". I wanted to see it in the tank, before I clear coat it. I haven't polished the acrylic yet, so sorry about the image quality. Note the color is much darker than in v1. In my opinion, the root and the fake wall were too similar in color before. Now it's more brown, rather than grey, which I think makes it look more like wood.
Also note the thin light diffuser on the tank bottom. It is zip-tied to the fake wall. With a deep sand bed on top, it helps to hold the wall down. The new fake wall on the left end will also be zip-tied to it.
I have removed the deep sand bed planter. It was very effective, but I have something else in mind for v2. I will bury some rocks in the sand to help hold its depth, then I will let the current sculpt the substrate.