Aquascaping Contests

[OmidNiav]

@Unexpected @gjcarew @Pepere @OmidNiav and @Kwyet and Luke and Raj (dont know yalls names here) all you guys did great work! This was the strongest field Ive seen yet. Made me glad I was a judge not competing!! lol

ScapeCrunch Representing!!

@gjcarew and @OmidNiav and Raj - I want to apologize for not giving comments on you guys tanks. I thought we were gonna have more time to do them but it was cut off before I expected it. You three were the only ones I lacked!

Thanks for taking the time to judge man. It takes a lot of effort on your end and all who entered should appreciate that.

 

[BenB]

I absolutely love Luca Galarraga's work.

How do they do that with the wood? Glue smaller bits together?
I like the irony that someone known for their rock work has done so well with their wood based scapes the last couple years.

 

[techman81]

How do they do that with the wood? Glue smaller bits together?
I like the irony that someone known for their rock work has done so well with their wood based scapes the last couple years.

Watch @Jeff Miotke 's videos where he's gluing lots of pieces of rock together to get the final shapes he wants. Impressive vision and detail. On that note, I finally put the new cotton wool gap filler to use and I love it. Yesterday was planting day for the 60cm Brazilian scape but I had to reglue some of the hardscape first. The gray gap filler matched the color of the faux seiryu stone perfectly. I was able to easily push it and form it into the gaps I wanted to glue and it soaked up the glue quickly. I think it will provide a much more secure grip than the previous bits of paper towel.

 

[G1rt]

Let me introduce UAC. Ukrainian aquascape contest. This year it was held for the first time, despite the war. Unfortunately, there is no English-language version of the site, but you can view the best aquascapes here. - UAC 2025

 

[BenB]

Let me introduce UAC. Ukrainian aquascape contest. This year it was held for the first time, despite the war. Unfortunately, there is no English-language version of the site, but you can view the best aquascapes here. - UAC 2025

These are nice. I really like the second entry.
I'm glad they were able to have it.

 

[*Ci*]

Let me introduce UAC. Ukrainian aquascape contest. This year it was held for the first time, despite the war. Unfortunately, there is no English-language version of the site, but you can view the best aquascapes here. - UAC 2025

Thanks for posting this! Were most of the entries Ukrainian?
I really like that the last page or so of scapes were so simplistic, like just ordinary people entering their less developed home tanks that they are proud of - people who most likely will develop and improve in the hobby (or they wouldn’t be entering a contest in the first place!). I would be in this category and it’s nice to see people giving it a try.

 

[BigWave]

I think it will provide a much more secure grip than the previous bits of paper towel.

Be careful with this technique! The cotten wool and or cigerette butt and Cyanoacrylate superglue trick works great for short term scapes. Longer term (9-12 months) it degrades and rocks, wood etc come loose. Think of it this way 85% of all aquascaped tanks are torn down a few days after the final photo so as to make room for the next aquascape.

 

[G1rt]

Thanks for posting this! Were most of the entries Ukrainian?
I really like that the last page or so of scapes were so simplistic, like just ordinary people entering their less developed home tanks that they are proud of - people who most likely will develop and improve in the hobby (or they wouldn’t be entering a contest in the first place!). I would be in this category and it’s nice to see people giving it a try.

Yes, most entries were Ukrainian. Everyone was allowed to participate in the competition (even beginners). Unfortunately, there were fewer works than the creators expected. But this is the first competition, and considering the circumstances, it wasn't so bad.