The record
What the contests wrote down.
These two records are also the clearest example in the dataset of what an international contest actually receives. The plant list, the animal list, the hardscape list and even the filtration field are filled in in Chinese, and the AGA published them that way rather than translating them12. So the record reads 杜鹃根，沉木，火山石 for the hardscape of "zenith"1: azalea root, driftwood and lava rock. We reproduce the field as stored and mark its language, and we do not silently replace it with our own translation.
The judges’ comments show what a layout like this is doing. Karen Randall singled out the use of pieces of wood to represent stalactites, and the lighting, dim but just bright enough to read the detail against a glaring sun. Cho Jaesun said the composition was perfect and that he was left curious about how the hardscape had been built at all. Tereza Lazar described being transported into a cave1.
The country field is the whole of what the official record says about this person, which is normal for a contest archive and is exactly the rule this page works to.
zenith
AGA 2023 · 2nd1
- Placing
- Second Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2023
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, >320L
- Entry number
- 272
- Country, as recorded
- China
- Tank
- 120 × 60 × 50 cm
- Volume
- 359L
- Lighting
- 72*2W
- Filtration
- 水葆底板过滤23W
- Hardscape and substrate
- 杜鹃根，沉木，火山石
- Plants
- 三角莫斯珊瑚莫斯辣椒榕波尼利椒草鹿角矮珍珠迷你水榕迷你瓦里斯榕叉叶铁皇冠黑木蕨红宫廷日本星珍珠
- Animals
- 喷火灯草虾
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“The use of pieces of wood to represent stalactites is just beautifully done as is the lighting. It is dim but just bright ENOUGH that we can see your details in spite of the glaringly bright "sun" ...”
“Wow! Another favorite of mine. Looking at the picture you seem to be transported to some mysterious underwater world as if you find yourself in a cave that fascinates with its beauty of colors the ...”
“This artwork stands out with many 'wow' elements displaying a perfect composition. It leaves one curious about the process behind the hardscape construction. There is much to see and learn from this ...”
Invite the moon
AGA 2021 · 2nd2
- Placing
- Second Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2021
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, >320L
- Entry number
- 380
- Country, as recorded
- China
- Tank
- 120 × 60 × 50 cm
- Volume
- 360L
- Lighting
- 320w
- Filtration
- 底版 水葆
- Plants
- 珊瑚moss 垂泪moss 小三角moss 火焰moss 日本星珍珠 爬地珍珠 红宫廷迷你水榕 迷你瓦斯榕 青木蕨 黑木蕨 美凤 绿藻球
- Animals
- 火焰灯
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“Very interesting job. The concept is not new but the layout was well executed. Dynamic and rich in detail the main sin was the thickness of the driftwood. Beyond of the excess of driftwood the ...”
“A great balance of hardscape and plants. The attention to detail makes everything pop while feeling very natural. I like the use of shadows and light to bring balance to the scape and draw my ...”
Image rights
No photograph on this page is ours, and none has been copied.
Every picture-shaped box above is a CSS gradient with a declared aspect ratio. The layouts themselves stay on the contests' own pages, and every entry above links to its own.
At the AGA, copyright stays with the aquascaper and the association holds an irrevocable, perpetual, sub-licensable licence5. Because it may sub-license, the AGA alone could grant us permission. That is the one obtainable route and it has not been asked for yet.
At IAPLC, the entrant keeps copyright and ADA holds a use right, so two parties would have to agree before any image could appear here.
At CIAC, CIPS states that the copyright of the top hundred entries belongs to CIPS and CFAA, so the aquascaper cannot grant it even if willing.
Until one of those is answered in writing, nothing is reproduced. Nobody reading this site should ever assume an image here belongs to us.
The other profiles
More pages, chosen the same way
Pages are built out of the 49 people whose official record carries enough detail to support one6. They are the ones with the most official detail recorded about them, so the choice is reproducible rather than a matter of taste.
- AGA 2023, Second Place. zenith. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2023/show272.html. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- AGA 2021, Second Place. Invite the moon. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2021/show380.html. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- AGA Aquascaping Contest showcase archive, 2000 to 2023. Aquatic Gardeners Association. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- Frequently asked questions. AGA Aquascaping Contest, no date. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/faq.html. Accessed 8 September 2026. The statement that entries 4 to 10 are displayed in tank volume order rather than placing order.
- Photo release agreement. AGAIAC, Inc., no date. https://agaiac.org/photo-release-agreement. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- Profile eligibility record. content/winners/profile-eligibility.json, generated 8 September 2026. This person carries 19 substantive fields beyond a name and a placing, above the threshold of four, and so is one of the 49 aquascapers for whom a page may be built.
Continue
Where to go next.
The winners
The other forty four people, and the full record of one hundred and seventeen placings.
The world competitions
The two contests behind the placings, and what each of them scores.
Styles and history
The schools these tanks are built in, with founders and dates.
IAPLC
The contest scoring sheet, where half the points go to whether a fish could really live there.