Aquashella 2026 - Chicago, IL

[JayP 433]

Yeah you get a book and one tool and you will be out $100-200 depending on the tool . I think all in I was out $500 and I didn't even get the mini tank. but the shizuku stand was $150. Also where is everyone's Shizuku Pot pics? I think the later shows had more options and better stuff as more people did it.

I need time to settle now that I'm back home and then I'll go through all the pics and videos to post some stuff. I haven't unpacked all the boxes and packages yet and I got some Buce that I need to get in the tank. I wasn't all that thrilled with my finished Shizuku, but I'm not good at doing things under a time crunch. I'll at least let it grow out to see if it starts to look better as is.

 

[JayP 433]

I have 3.3gb of photos and video from the event. This will take awhile.

 

[JayP 433]

Aquascaping is like art in a lot of ways, but especially how it seems to be in the eye of the beholder in what one considers great or just ok. I've viewed a number of contest scapes and thought some ranked outside the top 10 were much better than the top 3. Having said that, I was quite surprised that the scape at Chicago I thought was best from the first moment I saw it, up to completion, ended up winning first place. It also got best hardscape. The one critique I had was the choice of stone with the wood and sand. I think a darker stone would have been better, but I imagine, they went for that wood first and then settled on what stone they could get. The wood and it's placement, I think, are awesome!

Scaped by Jimmy Nguyen

 

[JayP 433]

This is better than my videos of the masterclass.