IIAC 2017 received 803 entries from 38 countries and areas.
IIAC 2017 PARTY
TOP 50 IIAC 2017 WORLD RANKING
01 - Malaysia - Josh Sim - Congo - 320L02 - China - Su-Ni Wei - Journey - 320L03 - China - Wen-Lin Ruan - The Ghouls - 320L04 - China - Yi He - Rustling Leaves in the Wind - 200L 320L05 - Indonesia - Heri Amir - Rasio Wild - 200L 320L06 - China - Jun-Feng Pan - Fairys Palace - 320L07 - Viet Nam - The Le van - Let it be - 320L08 - Indonesia - Jeffry - Little Paradise - 320L09 - Taiwan - Kevin Liu - Autumn Immersion - 320L10 - China - Zhe-Min Fan - Spring Breeze - 200L 320L11 - Thailand - Jirawong Laopiyasakul - Layers - 28L 60L12 - Taiwan - Tsai-Li Hsu - Colorful - 120L 200L13 - Taiwan - Kevin Liu - Colorful Wilnderness - 320L14 - Brazil - Fernando Roberto de Moraes - Valley off Dedication - 28L 60L15 - Taiwan - Harry Chen - Season Change - 120L 200L16 - Taiwan - Sung-Bin Chen - Colorful Forest - 120L 200L17 - China - Hong Xu - Embrace - 320L18 - Malaysia - Yeo Siak Wee - Home - 200L 320L19 - Taiwan - Ray Lee - The Twin Peaks - 60L 120L20 - United States - Zoltan Csanyi - Forbidden Woods - 120L 200L21 - Taiwan - Tsai-Li Hsu - Spring - 120L 200L22 - Brazil - Marcio Santana Sobrinho - Gunga's cliff - 28L 60L23 - Hungary - Szili-Kis József - Green path - 120L 200L24 - Brazil - Leonardo Alves de Oliveira - Freedom Call - 120L 200L25 - Hungary - Gabor Vereb - Dutch World - 200L 320L26 - China - Xue Wang - Coziness - 60L 120L27 - Viet Nam - The Le van - Rock Valley - 320L28 - Brazil - Juliano Pinto Cunha - Way Back Home - 320L29 - Brazil - Carlos Souza - FRIENDS - 28L 60L30 - Thailand - Eakthanut Isarathikul - River flow in Your - 28L 60L31 - Taiwan - Bo-Chun Change - A diamond in the Rough - 120L 200L32 - Brazil - Fabricio Rufino de Souza - Origens - 200L 320L33 - Taiwan - He-Cheng Lin - Forest - 320L34 - United States - Michael G.W. Wong - Standing Tall - 320L35 - Indonesia - Dody Percasso - JIMBARO - 120L 200L36 - Turkey - Emin KARAAHMETOGLU - The Deep In The Forest - 60L 120L37 - China - Shu-Gang Jin - Mountain - 200L 320L38 - Brazil - Andy Andrade - Treading horizons - 28L 60L39 - Taiwan - Yen-Bin Chan - Autumn Red Valley - 200L 320L40 - Turkey - Fatih Gönül - Mysterious Forest Roads - 320L41 - Taiwan - Sung-Bin Chen - Jurassic Forest - 200L 320L42 - China - Jia-Hui Sun - Spring is in the Air - 60L 120L43 - Brazil - Flavio Henard Jorge de Freitas - Inspiration in vitro - 200L 320L44 - China - Jin Liang - Ancient Trail - 320L45 - Thailand - Nobphacha Yimyou - COLOURFUL JUNGLE - 200L 320L46 - Indonesia - Luky Ardiansyah - Sempel jungle - 200L 320L47 - Thailand - Eakthanut Isarathikul - i Scream - 28L 60L48 - Brazil - Andy Andrade - The River Between Mountains - 28L 60L49 - Brazil - Sheila Araujo - Vale do Rio Doce - 28L 60L
A CIAC results list is also a meeting point for aquascaping communities around the world. Read the country column alongside the photographs, and another story emerges: established names holding their ground, more works reaching the leading positions, and communities finding new reasons to celebrate.
In 2024, Rahul Mukherjee finished 63rd in CIAC's Aquascaping Group. In 2025, he reached sixth place. That 57-place advance is one of five compelling stories we can discover by putting two seasons of results—and their photographs—together.
The first three places make the headlines. Keep scrolling through the CIAC 2025 aquascapes, however, and the gallery opens into a much wider landscape: shaded forests, weathered roots, bright rock valleys and fish that give an underwater scene its sense of life.
Every CIAC results announcement gives the aquascaping community a new collection of works to discuss, study and remember. Behind the winning photograph is a longer story: earlier competitions, ideas developed across seasons, and the practical work of bringing a landscape to life.
Before the CIAC 2026 results arrive on October 10, there is time to look again at the aquascapes that made the previous season memorable. The most useful question is not simply which work finished highest. It is how each composition earned our attention—and what we notice when we return to it.
Before a new IAPLC winner is revealed, the previous season deserves a closer look. Which aquascaping styles filled the TOP 300 in 2025? Did the same visual families become more common in the TOP 100, TOP 27 and TOP 7? And what can those layouts teach us about depth, planting and the way fish bring a composition to life?
This image presents a densely planted underwater scene organized around a pale sandy trail that recedes beneath an arch of roots and foliage. A school of small fish occupies the upper-left and central water, while layered greens, reddish plant accents and hanging root-like forms create strong vertical depth. The composition is highly atmospheric and technically controlled, with darkness at the edges directing attention toward the illuminated opening. Because the photograph does not reveal maintenance history, livestock identification or construction details beneath the planting, those aspects are judged conservatively from visible evidence only.
Twenty-five years. Twenty-five winning aquascapes. Twenty-two individual champions. The history of the IAPLC Grand Prize is a record of how aquascaping has expanded its visual language—from lush planted habitats and open swimming spaces to forests, rock corridors, caves and intricately constructed underwater worlds.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list offers an opportunity to discover creators whose next work could become a new source of inspiration. Alongside familiar champions are names with a different recent story: a finish outside the Top 300 in 2025, followed by a nomination in 2026.
This image presents a densely planted rocky aquascape organized around a bright central opening that reads as a submerged valley. Dark, sharply layered stones establish the structure, while mosses and fine foliage soften their edges without obscuring the main geological rhythm. Small schooling fish add scale and movement across the upper and middle water, although their exact species and ecological requirements cannot be confirmed from the image alone. The result is a convincing naturalistic scene with strong depth, an unusually effective water-surface transition, and a few areas where planting density and visual control could be refined.
This image presents a densely planted underwater landscape built around a shaded, forest-like stream. Dark framing vegetation and arching wood create a strong tunnel effect, while a pale central opening supplies depth and directs attention toward the rear of the composition. A group of small fish occupies the middle water, reinforcing the impression of a living habitat. The scene is highly immersive and technically ambitious, although the darkness at both sides and the very dense planting make some structural relationships difficult to read. Scores below are editorial estimates based only on this image, not official contest results.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominees include a compelling mix of former champions and accomplished competitors. One detail makes this year's announcement especially exciting: all four of the top finishers from IAPLC 2025 are nominated again—Josh Sim, Gang Zhao, Katsuki Tanaka and Hidekazu Tsukiji.
The 2026 Great Wall Cup International Aquascaping Contest (CIAC) has completed its submission phase and moved into judging, receiving 650 entries from 29 countries and regions.
Japan has the largest representation in the IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list, with 68 names. AquaLibs' analysis of ADA's official list counts 300 nominees across 49 countries and areas, with Vietnam third by nominee count.
Twenty-nine Vietnamese aquascapers have been named in the IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list published by ADA. Their nominations give Vietnam's aquascaping community a shared reason to celebrate as attention turns to the final results on October 10.
The IAPLC 2026 TOP 300 nominee list is available, with final results scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026. For aquascaping enthusiasts, it is time to find familiar names and prepare for the reveal.
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