my take on IAPLC 2011

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 in ADA, Aesthetic, Aquariums, Blog, Glass Boxes, Ichthyology, Inspiration, Photography | 1 comment

The International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest (IAPLC) recently announced the top 20 winners for the 2011 contest.  As usual, there were some I really liked and some I really didn’t.  It’s always nice to see what people throughout the world are doing in regard to aquascaping and pushing the limits of creating new visuals and new scenes.  Part of me comes to the results somewhat disenchanted: many of the tanks constructed and entered into the contest are set up merely 3-4 months before the contest and taken down soon after the photographs are submitted.  I would prefer to think that the tanks entered enjoyed a much longer lifespan, growing and evolving over the months and years.  In fact, I think some of the aquascapes would actually benefit from having some extra time to age.

Regardless, I thought I would share images of the top 20 entries (images via Miyabi Aqua Design LTD) starting from number 20 and working my way up to the Grand Champion.  The images themselves include commentary from the judges; mine are in plain text below each image.

 

 

I’m fairly ambivalent about this layout–it looks like dozens of other similar tanks I’ve seen on the internet, and just seems to be a hodge-podge of various techniques and styles.  It’s sort of a diorama scene, with branches made to look like old forest trees, grass made too look like grass, and either a waterfall/stream or path winding up through the center.  There just isn’t anything particularly noteworthy or appealing to me.

 

 

This has the potential to be a great layout, but needs some more time to grow in as it feels very unfinished to me.  I like the perspective and movement…the feeling that you’re peering out from behind the rock outcropping on the left.  But the tree-like structure at the top of the tank needs more time for the plants to fill out and spread out along the surface–it feels too confined.  The shades of green, however, are fantastic and the rust-red coloration of the tetras compliment this tank very well.

 

 

I’m really not that into this layout much at all.  I think what bothers me is the magenta colored plant in the top left of the tank, which makes it appear almost fake or unreal.  Personally, that’s just not my color scheme and is something I would probably leave out in favor of something with another shade of green.

 

 

Upon initial glance, I love this layout.  The coloration of the rainbowfish with the golden color of the background plants gives the effect of the sun setting somewhere in the distance.  The effect, however, is lost with the green plants up front and clumps of moss.  If they had stuck with a semi-gold color scheme, or at least plants that weren’t so brilliantly green, I think it would have continued the effect of golden light being cast upon the landscape.  It’s nice to see some larger fish included in an aquascape.

 

 

I respect the lifelikeness and attention to details that the aquascapers were going for with this one…but I don’t like such an obviously literal design.  Perhaps if the lake had not been made so ‘perfect’ in shape it might have a different quality.

 

 

This is another layout I feel like I’ve seen hundreds of times before.  Granted, the color of the stones used is different than normal (which I like)…but there have been so many cliff-and-stonelike aquascapes entered over the last few years that it just feels overdone, and in many ways is hard to look at for too long.

 

 

I feel the same way about this layout as I did the one above: visually it just feels too busy.  If some of the rocks were covered up or removed it might be more appealing, but even then the symmetry is off.  It’s too balanced for me.

 

 

I’m a sucker for green, and this has a great feel to it.  My only comment is that I want the Java ferns to be a bit further along in their growth…but overall I love this tank and the choice of a fish species that is more subdued in its coloration.

 

 

This layout is on the verge of being ‘overplayed’…but the choice of plant saves it and gives the impression of moss-covered rocks in Iceland or some other boreal land.  My only qualm is the use of neon tetras–with so many species of fish available to the hobbyist, why is this the chronic fish of choice in layouts?

 

 

I’ve done quite a bit of snorkeling in local streams and rivers, and my first impression upon viewing this aquascape was that it felt like I was in the shallows of one of those streams.  I like the brightness of it that balances the dark rocks…and what pleasantly surprised me was the use of the long-leaved plants in the background.  Evidently the ADA judges didn’t like the use of this plant and felt it would have been better without it.  I agree that it’s use isn’t as good as it could have been, but feel that increasing where it was used and connecting it more to the side or foreground would make it much more affective and visually appealing, rather than the complete absence of it.

 

 

I love this layout.  With so many tanks entered that have such a strong hardscape element, this was a nice break.  And like the previous layout, it gave me the impression that I was back snorkeling in a weed-choked stream, laying down on the bottom and looking up toward the bank.  This is also one of the few tanks where I think the resulting aquascape is also conducive for the longterm keeping of the fish (providing cover, safety, etc.).

 

 

I’m really surprised this made it.  Again, I’m tired of the path leading up the middle.  The color combination of plants seems strange to me and, although I know the designer was probably going for a sense of depth, it all feels very flat–the lines created by the Rotala run pretty much straight across the tank.  The two triangles created at the top and bottom of the tank are too centered, too symmetrical.  And the blue background, again, is an attempt at trying to be too literal and the shade  of blue that was used clashes with the red plants.  If it had been left white I think it would have been much more appealing…but still wouldn’t have saved the aquascape.

 

 

Again, I’m tired of this layout.  It seems that this was an attempt at creating a sense of depth as well…but creates two triangles that are too uniform.

 

 

There have been a few aquascapes like this entered in the past, and I’m not completely sold on the use of such aggressive woodwork.  Regardless of the actual design, I feel this tank would look a lot better in a few months when the wood has a nice ‘patina’ of moss or algae on it, and foreground plants are grown in along the front and into the rockwork.  It looks too new, too clean for my liking.

 

 

Of all the “lots of rock” tanks entered, this is probably the one I dislike the least.  The variation of plant species and rocks used help, but the lines and slopes created are too obvious for me.  And, again, knock it off with the path leading up the middle of the tank.

 

 

Brilliant.  Absolutely stunning.  The more I look at this tank the more I like it.  And the reason I like this layout and what sets it apart from some of the other ‘rocky’ tanks that were entered is that it uses a variety of textures and colors in regard to plants, and successfully creates a sense of depth.  The stem plants in the back are used perfectly.  There IS a path-like element running up the tank, but I don’t mind it in this one as it’s broken up so much by the rockwork.  The focal point of the massive rock is brilliant, employing such a dark shadow to an otherwise bright tank.  And I love that it actually appears as thought the scene is underwater, with few plants int he middle and the taller plants forming the overgrown banks…not to mention those glitter lines in the background.  Had the aquascaper tried to make a blue sky back there I would probably enjoy this tank much less.  Well done.  This tank is what I would have chosen to be Grand Champion.

 

 

There are aspects of this tank I like and aspects I don’t like.  Again, another path leading up the middle.  If it were broken up a bit more it would be okay, and if the arch-like branch weren’t so centered or ‘perfect’ looking it would be even better.  But the fact that they are both a bit grubby and the sand isn’t perfectly white helps…in addition to the fact that the entire aquascape feels a bit ‘dirty’ and not so cleanly utopian.  The moss and rusty plants in the background, along with the trailing roots and vines make this sort of dioramic layout more pleasing to me visually than some of the other attemps at it.

 

 

I want to like this one, but something about it just doesn’t sit right with me.  I like the raggedness of it, but the trees made of cork feel too clean for me.  I think another couple months worth of growth would really add to this tank…as would the removal of the cardinal tetras.

 

 

Isn’t this the tank that one last year’s contest?  Oh wait, last year’s winner didn’t have a white path leading toward the back of the tank.  Let this be a lesson to the aquascaper: it’s a fine white line between Grand Champion and first runner up.

 

 

This is a great and fairly original layout.  The rockwork was assembled in such a way as to make the rocks appear almost weightless, creating a very surreal layout and product.  It’s grown in enough to feel like a somewhat established layout, and the use of open space and shadows is done very effectively.  The diversity of plants used adds to the layout: rather than a single species, the numerous different plants give the impression that they have colonized the rockwork over time, seeds blowing in and settling in the nooks and germinating in the moss.  And the best part of all?  Not a single cardinal or neon tetra to be found.  However, even given the novelty of the idea, it’s a layout that I get finished looking at fairly quickly and doesn’t hold my attention for too long.