AGA 2014 World Ranking Announcement

New to this year was the addition of the Dutch style aquascapes, a category that the AGA is excited about developing for future contests. Although there weren’t as many aquascapes entered into the category compared to other categories, we’re hoping that the word spreads and we have an outstanding turnout for next year’s contest. We would like to thank Marco Aukes from the Netherlands for lending his technical expertise and helping to judge the Dutch aquascape category. We hope to have him back for future contests!

The AGA Contest Committee would also like to thank our esteemed judges, Karen Randall (USA), Oliver Knott (Germany), Kam Wong (Hong Kong), and Luca Galarraga (Brazil). Also we would like to thank the members of our Biotope Committee, Karen Randall, Phil Edwards, and Scott Dowd, Senior Freshwater Aquarist of the New England Aquarium. Without their hard work, the contest would not be the success it was this year.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank our corporate supporters for this year’s contest, Seachem Laboratories, Reef2Rainforest (Amazonas Magazine), and Brightwell Aquatics. Their support has made the contest a success again this year and the contest could not happen without their generosity. Thank you!

Once again I'm honored to have the opportunity to judge such a high level Aquascaping Contest! Congratulations to all the participants everyone who takes part in this contest helps to improve and develop our beloved hobby!
— Luca Galarraga

Congratulations to all participants of the AGA Aquascaping Contest 2014. A huge honour judging all of these great works and a pleasure to feel the passion in every single work! This hobby brings the world together Let's Scape.
— Oliver Knott

Our contest continues to grow and with it the overall quality of the aquascapes. Congratulations to each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work and your vision with us!!!
— Karen Randall

As you begin viewing the entries you will probably notice that a number disqualifications in the Biotope and Dutch style categories. A panel of experts pre-judged these aquascapes and determined that they did not meet the criteria set forth in the contest rules. The contest committee dislikes disqualifying any tank from the contest. However given the number of entries and the clearly stated rules we felt compelled to take this route. If there are questions regarding the reasons for disqualifying the tanks please feel free to contact one of our judges or members of our contest committee.
— Bailin Shaw

TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, < 28L

I always love this category and this year's entries did not disappoint!
— Karen Randall

Lots of wonderful small tanks. Keep inspiring us.
— Kam Wong

It is a great category start with an aquascape and as you see the results are great.
— Oliver Knott

All my respect to these aquascapers who do so much in so little space!
Congratulations!
— Luca Galarraga

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  01 - Antah Barantah - Wendy Kurniawan - Indonesia.

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  02 - The Passage - Fabian Kussakawa - Brazil.

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  03 - Triple That - Jirapong Laopiyasakul - Thailand.

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  04 - Peaks - Roman Holba - Czech.

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  05 - Thin strip of sky - Chen Jingbin - China.

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  06 - Pikes Peak - Narongrit Dantragoon - Thailand.

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  07 - Island - Kau Wan Ling - Singapore.

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  08 - The courage - Watana Supukpongvilai - Thailand.

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  09 - Scorpion - hongtesyu - Taiwan.

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  10 - Static - YI-HAO HUANG - Taiwan.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, 28L ~ 60L

Nice effort in the category.
— Kam Wong

Hard to judge and not easy to decide which get the best points. Great works.
— Oliver Knott

Strong category but one particular work ... made my day! Keep pushing this awesome hobby guys!
— Luca Galarraga

This is usually a strong category and this year is especially strong. Do not feel bad if your tank didn't place you are in very VERY good company. Choosing the top tanks was very difficult!!!
— Karen Randall

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  01 - The Memory of Doi Inthanon - Watana Supukpongvilai - Thailand.

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  02 - Walk in the Woods - FERAMUS Gauthier - France.

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  03 - Valley - YI-HAO HUANG - Taiwan.

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  04 - Drops of light in the forest - Petruc Dan Iulian - Romania.

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  05 - Love - Yu Cheng Pan - China.

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  06 - Middle Earth - wongsawan wetchasit - Thailand.

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  07 - Smash the mirror - Ludo BOURDIN - France.

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  08 - Rupture - Andreas Ruppert - Germany.

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  09 - Flow Nature - Natasha M Santos - Brazil.

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  10 - Beyond the Horizon - Carlos Souza - Brazil.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, 60L ~ 120L

Tight competition congrats!
— Kam Wong

This judgement was very hard. The works are amazing and very close together. Congratulation to all who take part.
— Oliver Knott

Really difficult to choose top 10 aquariums ... I must choose top 20! Well done guys!
— Luca Galarraga

I agree with Luca. I could have easily found a "top 20" in this strong category!
— Karen Randall

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  01 - Sempu Island - Heri amir - Indonesia.

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  02 - Gecacgaloni (Waterfall) - Mustafa Erdogar - Turkey.

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  03 - Dance of Fireflies - Nelson Paguinto - Philippines.

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  04 - The Rupture - Tartó László - Hungary.

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  05 - Gua Luweng Ombo - M Saidi Arif - Indonesia.

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  06 - Eweni - Attila Adam - Hungary.

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  07 - Jurang Mayit - Amir Rasio - Indonesia.

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  08 - Yamadori - Ludo BOURDIN - France.

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  09 - Enigma - Michael GW Wong - Hongkong.

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  10 - Meet up the Winds - Serkan Cetinkol - Turkey.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, 120L ~ 200L

Saw some gems in this category. Looking forward for more beautiful layouts in the future.
— Kam Wong

Interesting category with some very creative works congratulations!
— Luca Galarraga

Some really cool and high skilled works in this category.
— Oliver Knott

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  01 - Hidden refuge - Gabor Vereb - Hungary.

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  02 - Hope - Robertus Hartono - Singapore.

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  03 - The sceret land - Piotr Beczynski - Poland.

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  04 - Distant hollow - Adrian Weinberg - Australia.

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  05 - Awaiting - Chen Han Hsuan - Taiwan.

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  06 - The Flamboyant - Fabian Kussakawa - Brazil.

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  07 - Roots - Papanikolas Nikos - Greece.

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  08 - Focus - Chai Li Hsu - Taiwan.

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  09 - The Last Green Mile - Jean Francois Maillot - France.

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  10 - The Island - Kevin Teoh - Malaysia.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, 200L ~ 320L

Close race for top 10 in this category. Great Job Aquascapers.
— Kam Wong

Extreme competitive category with awesome works congratulations to all participants!
— Luca Galarraga

A stunning category with so amazing works.
— Oliver Knott

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  01 - Wolinski Gregoire - France.

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  02 - Journey - Michael GW Wong - HongKong.

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  03 - Desire - Sim Kian Hong - Malaysia.

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  04 - The valley of five waterfalls - Andre Luiz Longarco - Brazil.

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  05 - Desire - Diego Marinelli - Italy.

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  06 - Los Amantes - Miguel Angel Garcia - Spain.

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  07 - A morning of peace and calm - Juan Puchades Rufino - Spain.

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  08 - Picturesque landscape - Chen Jingbin - China.

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  09 - Great Momentum - Zhang Jian Feng - Macau.

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  10 - Forever - Hui Kam Man Cliff - Hongkong.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Aquatic Garden, > 320L

Hardest to judge due the effort of creating such large masterpieces.
— Kam Wong

Awesome category with gorgeous aquariums. The X-large size demands despite talent huge effort that must be recognized ... Congratulations guys you are heroes!
— Luca Galarraga

I am big fan of big tanks and a big congratulation for the big hearts of a tank owners at this category. Amazing!
— Oliver Knott

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  01 - Galloping - Chow Wai Sun - HongKong.

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  02 - Hidden Place - pasquale buonpane - Italy.

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  03 - Divine - Michael GW Wong - Hongkong.

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  04 - Thunder Mountain valley - Fernando Boturao Francischelli - Brazil.

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  05 - Bedrock - CHEAH SWEE LIM - France.

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  06 - Green mountains and rocks - Lao chan fei - China.

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  07 - Hanasaka Jiisan - Poupin Ulrich - France.

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  08 - The Green Hopefulness - Mai The Ngoc - VietNam.

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  09 - Reviure - Pep Pericas - Spain.

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  10 - Follow Me - Michael Leroy - France.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Biotope Aquascape

 For sure I am not the expert for Biotope Scapes...but I love to see what you do with this theme. Great !
— Oliver Knott

Biotopes aren`t my speciality but I admire the aquarists that work with this very special aquariums. For sure they are the most passionate ones ...
Congratulations!
— Luca Galarraga

The biotopes maybe even more difficult than any other category. Besides the fact that all fish and plants need to be biotope correct it still needs to look good. Only the real pros manage to do that and make algea look good!
— Marco Aukes

I am so thrilled with the quality of many of the biotope tanks this year. Many entrants have really taken this genera to heart and are producing very accurate as well as beautiful tanks.
— Karen Randall

Again some very well done biotopes which made my job that much harder! Kudos to all! You will probably notice that a number of tanks were disqualified in the Biotope and Dutch style categories. These tanks were pre-judged by a panel of experts and it was determined that these aquascapes did not meet the criteria set forth in the rules of the contest. The contest committee dislikes disqualifying any tank from the contest. However given the number of tanks and the clearly stated rules we felt compelled to take these routes. If there are questions regarding the reasons for disqualifying the tanks please feel free to contact one of our judges or members of our contest committee.
— Bailin Shaw

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  01 - Profundulus oaxacae habitat - Victor manuel Ortiz Cruz - Mexico.

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  02 - Backwater of Solimoes River - Stjepan Erdeljic - Croatia.

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  03 - River of starts - Wong Wee Mun - Singapore.

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  04 - Everglades National Park - Evgeniya Moiseeva - Russian.

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  05 - New Guinea - Jakub Kijak - Poland.

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  06 - Fallen Tree - Nuno Miguel Almeida Matos - Portugal.

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  07 - Rio Shanushi tributary near Yurimaguas - Ivan Frank - Croatia.

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  08 - In the darkness the fires burn bright - Hamza Poonawalla - India.

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  09 - Land Of the Sajicas - Hamza Poonawalla - India.

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  10 - Rio Abacaxis shore of the lake Lago Glemende - Pawel Nowotko - UK.

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TOP 03 AGA 2014 Dutch Aquascape

I hope we see more real Dutch style tanks in this category in the future and fewer tanks that clearly don't belong here. We only have a very few that even come close to meeting the criteria for a Dutch scape this year. Please read the rules for next year or enter the "Aquatic Garden" category instead!
— Karen Randall

A fresh new category in this contest with the ultimate goal to promote spread and maintain the Dutch Style of aquascaping. But just like when we put a new aquarium plant in our tanks a new category needs the best attention possible and in some cases a lot of patience to get the result we all would like. Unfortunately this year a lot of tanks had to be disqualified because they did not belong in the Dutch Style category. The remaining tanks however are a nice and promising start of this new category. Hopefully with a lot of attention and encouragement we can make this flourish just like the rest of the categories in this contest.
— Marco Aukes

Very cool category back to the roots of planted aquariums. So it is a category for plant lovers...and I am still a aquatic plant lover ;)
— Oliver Knott

You will probably notice that a number of tanks were disqualified in the Biotope and Dutch style categories. These tanks were pre-judged by a panel of experts and it was determined that these aquascapes did not meet the criteria set forth in the rules of the contest. The contest committee dislikes disqualifying any tank from the contest. However given the number of tanks and the clearly stated rules we felt compelled to take these routes. If there are questions regarding the reasons for disqualifying the tanks please feel free to contact one of our judges or members of our contest committee.
— Bailin Shaw

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  01 - Far away from home - Jose Antonio Jurado Rivera - Spain.

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  02 - Spring - CHAI LI HSU - Taiwan.

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  03 - Marcin Kowalski - Ireland.

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TOP 10 AGA 2014 Paludarium

Like every time a different but very nice category. Love it !
— Oliver Knott

Kudos to all our entries for a VERY nice class. Many of the tanks in the top ten could have been "top tree" in a different year. I really enjoyed judging these tanks!!!
— Karen Randall

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  01 - Little Rain Forest - Xu Hong - China.

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  02 - Corner of anteater - Rafael Dykstra - Brazil.

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  03 - Summers in Algonquin - Jason Litner - US.

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  04 - Nook Bonsai - Natasha M Santos - Brazil.

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  05 - Green Mines - M Saidi Arif - Indonesia.

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  06 - Calm Carmona - Andreas Ruppert - Germany.

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  07 - Lost in the valley - Liu Yong - China.

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  08 - Venom - Adrian Weinberg - Australia.

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  09 - Beauty in small details - Luidi Rafael de Souza Doim -Brazil.

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  10 - Zen - Hiroaki Kanzaki - Japan.

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 From aquatic-gardeners.org