The record
What the contests wrote down.
In 2024 one layout, "Great Wave", took the IAPLC Grand Prize and the AGA Best of Show in the same year12910. That is rare. It is also the clearest single example of the circuit described on the competitions page: the contests run in sequence through the year, IAPLC in August and the AGA in December, so a strong layout can be entered into the second contest once the first result is public.
The detail worth noticing is the tank. All four AGA entries here were built in a 120 by 60 by 45 centimetre tank, recorded at 324, 323, 324 and 324 litres across 2017, 2020, 2022 and 20245431. Seven years of placings out of what looks like the same footprint, rebuilt each time. The AGA measures from the tank floor up to the water line rather than to the top of the glass, which is why the number moves by a litre.
The hardscape lists change and the plant lists change completely. In 2024 it was dragon wood and yosei stone over ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia with Power Sand M and La Plata sand, planted with more than twenty species1. Compare that with the same builder in 20175 and the layouts share almost nothing but their dimensions.
On the name
The AGA archive also holds records under "Luis Carlos Ardid Galarraga" and the 2024 entry page uses the address form "luis-galarraga"61. Our dataset keeps "Luis Carlos Ardid Galarraga" as a separate record and this page does not absorb it. The research proposed treating the full form as the canonical name for all of them. Under the rule this site works to, no contest has published that equivalence, so no merge is made. If the AGA states it, we will merge them and say so on this page.
Great Wave
AGA 2024 · 1st1
- Placing
- Best of Show and First Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2024
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, greater than 320L
- Entry number
- 211
- Country, as recorded
- Brazil
- Tank
- 120 x 60 x 45 cm
- Volume
- 324 L
- Lighting
- 2 x Netlea NL580L
- Filtration
- ADA Super Jet 1200
- Hardscape and substrate
- Dragon wood, yosei stone. Substrate ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia, ADA Power Sand M, ADA La Plata sand.
- Plants
- Micranthemum Monte CarloGlossostigma elatinoidesLittorella unifloraEleocharis minimaMarsilea hirsutaRanunculus papulentusVesicularia montagneiRiccardia chamedryfoliaAnubias sp. Mini CoinAnubias sp. PangolinoBolbitis sp. MiniMicrosorum WindelovMicrosorum sp. MiniCryptocoryne pygmaeaBucephalandra sp.Utricularia graminifoliaRotala sp. GreenRotala NanjenshanPogostemon erectusRotala sp. BangladeshLimnophila sp. Vietnam
- Animals
- Hyphessobrycon elachysTrigonostigma hengeliNannostomus marginatusDanio erythromicronCaridina japonicaCaridina pareparensis
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“He said the work surpasses the limits of what can be expressed with driftwood, that it seems inspired by Japanese art and reinterprets it, and that the choice and placement of plants is perfect.”
Note on this record
The same layout also won the IAPLC 2024 Grand Prize.
Great Wave
IAPLC 2024 · 1st2
- Placing
- 1st place
- Contest
- IAPLC
- Year
- 2024
- Country, as recorded
- Brazil
Samurai
AGA 2022 · 3rd3
- Placing
- Third Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2022
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, >320L
- Entry number
- 706
- Country, as recorded
- Brazil
- Tank
- 120 × 60 × 45 cm
- Volume
- 324L
- Lighting
- Maxspect RSX 300
- Filtration
- ADA Super Jet 1200
- Hardscape and substrate
- ADA Ryuoh Stones and "Aroeira" driftwood.
- Plants
- Marsilea hirsutaUtricularia graminifoliaGlossostigma elatinoidesHemianthus micranthemoidesBlyxa japonicaBucephalandra sp.Anubias pangolinoHygrophila pinnatifidaLudwigia guineaLimnophila vietnamRotala H'raRotala nanjenshanPogostemon sp. australiaPogostemon stellatusMurdannia engelsiiTaxiphyllum alternansRiccardia chamedrifolia.
- Animals
- 10 Gourami Samurai (Sphaerichthys vaillanti)50 Paracheirodon simulans30 Tucanoichthys tucano30 Hyphessobrycon elachys.
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“Brazilian colors and Brazilian joie de vivre. I like this style very much. A few aspects of the design raise questions for me. The Driftwood seems a bit too steep you can't follow its shapes into the ...”
“One of the best tanks of the category. A very well executed Brazilian style full of details and a perfect use of lines and perspective. I can see the very personal and special touch of the author. ...”
“Awesome aquascape a mix of Brazilian style with big wood. Interesting 2:3 proportion layout where is easy to follow the natural flow of the job. The perspective line is very pleasant and the overall ...”
Whispering Shadows
AGA 2020 · 1st4
- Placing
- Best of Show and 1st Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2020
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, >320L
- Entry number
- 487
- Country, as recorded
- Brazil
- Tank
- 120 × 60 × 45 cm
- Volume
- 323L
- Lighting
- Maxspect RSX300
- Filtration
- ADA SuperJet 1200
- Hardscape and substrate
- ADA Ryuoh Stones, La Plata Sand
- Plants
- Rotala nanjenshanRotala H´raLimnophila VietnamHygrophila pinnatifidaHygrophila araguaiaHygrophila sp. TigerEleocharis minimaMicranthemum Monte CarloHemianthus calitrichoides "Cuba"Bucephalandra sp.Microsorum windelowAnubias pangolinoMarsilea angustifoliaMarsilea hirsutaTaxiphyllum sp.Vesicularia montagneiFissidens fontanusRiccardia chamedrifoliaUtricularia graminifoliaStaurogyne repensBlyxa japonicaPogostemon helferi
- Animals
- Paracheirodon simulansHyphessobrycon elachysNannostomus marginatusTucanoichthys tucano.
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“The lines in this scape are really nice and create a great sense of depth. The colors are brilliant without going too far over the edge. Nice work!”
“Outstanding job!!! Starting with the title that perfectly expresses the feeling of the work. It is possible to see hear and mainly feel the whisper of the shadows through the grooves of the rocks ...”
“This aquarium is a masterpiece. It combines the power of its structure with magical lines that allow us to feel the flow. Despite its impact and speed the plant is the protagonist at all times and ...”
Summertime
AGA 2017 · 2nd5
- Placing
- Second Place
- Contest
- AGA
- Year
- 2017
- Category
- Aquatic Garden, >320L
- Entry number
- 656
- Country, as recorded
- Brazil
- Tank
- 120 × 60 × 45 cm
- Volume
- 324L
- Lighting
- Maxspect Razor F175w
- Filtration
- ADA Super Jet 1200
- Hardscape and substrate
- ADA Sansui stones
- Plants
- Rotala HraRotala indicaRotala rotundifoliaRotala macrandra greenRotala wallichiiRotala nanjenshanLimnophila VietnamBlyxa japonicaMyriophyllum sp. redMyriophyllum sp. GuineaHydrocotyle tripartitaHygrophila pinnatifidaEleocharis minimaCalitriche sp.Micranthemum Monte CarloHemianthus calitrichoides CubaBucephalandra sp.Penthorum sedoidesEchinodorus tenellusMarsilea angustifoliaVesicularia dubyana e Fissidens fontanus.
- Animals
- Mikrogeophagus ramireziHyphessobrycon flameusHyphessobrycon elachysHyphessobrycon montagiOryzias woworaeNannostomus eques.
What the judges wrote, quoted and attributed
“Very colorful and natural layout. The reflections and shadows are perfect and the movement of the hardscape invites us to walk through the layout. I also liked the Ramirezis. The bushes in the back ...”
“Beautifully crafted great plant growth... Well done!”
“One of the best uses of color in this contest. The health and vibrancy of the plants is exceptional and the most captivating aspect of this well executed aquascape. The impression of a shallow ...”
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 licence8. 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 one11. They are the ones with the most official detail recorded about them, so the choice is reproducible rather than a matter of taste.
- AGA 2024, Best of Show and First Place. Great Wave. https://2024.agaiac.org/211-great-wave-by-luis-galarraga-brazil/. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- IAPLC 2024, 1st place. Great Wave. https://iaplc.com/gallery/en/ (filter by year 2024). Accessed 8 September 2026.
- AGA 2022, Third Place. Samurai. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2022/show706.html. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- AGA 2020, Best of Show and 1st Place. Whispering Shadows. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2020/show487.html. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- AGA 2017, Second Place. Summertime. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2017/show656.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.
- Grand Prize works, 2001 to 2025. IAPLC, Aqua Design Amano. https://iaplc.com/e/grand_prize_works/. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- Past works gallery, 2018 to 2025. IAPLC, Aqua Design Amano. https://iaplc.com/gallery/en/. Accessed 8 September 2026.
- Profile eligibility record. content/winners/profile-eligibility.json, generated 8 September 2026. This person carries 42 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.