Generally one runs substrate 2-3 cm at front, 8-10cm (or higher) at back to increase perspective- you’ll need to chose which view you want to emphasize
The Edge isn’t the easiest tank to work within, you’ll want to consider light fall if you’re staying with the stock LED, also filter positioning - most importantly access for trimming and glass maintenance
That’s a lot of plant species inside a rather small tank, you should choose main vs accessory species (just a few highlight “stems”)
BUT if using the stock light, you’ll also need to take into account the effect on growth patterns from the uneven lighting eg HC will struggle in the heavily shaded areas, MC would be more forgiving
I’m never that keen on hardscapes that I have transitioned from “mock” tanks - perhaps it’s the effect of the Kessil lighting which tends to creat more light/shadow effect but I usually stray rather far afield ... now I just look for inspiration in the mock-up and expect slight to drastic changes once working in-tank
Note that water vs air also affects perception
And of course, plant growth - leaf shapes, colours, textures
In Diorama scapes, hardscape defines the layout as plants are minimalistic (another moss please
)
In plant dominated scapes, some that begin with rather bland hardscapes, develop into outstanding tanks ... I’ve Takashi Amano’s Nature Aquarium World volumes and still prefer many of those scapes over the more contemporary IAPLC top choices
