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Guidelines - Garden Style Aquascaping Contest​

Rules and Guidelines​

This page contains some general information about entering the Garden Style Aquascaping Contest (GSAC), details on how the aquascapes are judged, the specifics on what a garden style aquascape is, and finally some rules on photographs. Please read these guidelines before entering the contest. You may also wish to read the FAQ for information not contains here.

General Entrance Guidelines​

The Garden Style Aquascaping Contest (GSAC) is open for entry for 2 months beginning on February 14th, with results announced in May.

The GSAC is a friendly aquascaping contest with the mission of promoting the beauty of the garden style aquascape. It is a single category contest. As all other aquascaping contests, it is a way for hobbyists to share their aquascaping efforts with each other, and to learn better techniques through the display and evaluation of those efforts by very experienced judges. It is open to all hobbyists, regardless of age, national origin or degree of experience in the hobby.

Each aquascaper will need to:

• Complete a form with a small amount of personal information (including their real legal name, City and Country)
• Agree to the photo release (part of the above form)
• Supply basic information for each aquascape (maximum three aquascapes per aquascaper)
• Upload photographs (1 per aquascape)

A maximum of three (3) aquascapes may be entered per aquascaper in total and only one (1) per size category. Attempts to enter more than three aquascapes using multiple accounts will result in immediate disqualification of all aquascapes.

Aquascapers are asked to not include personal identifying information in the aquascape information. This includes the title, descriptive text, and photographs. The contest committee reserves the right to remove such identifying information.

Further questions may be answered by the organizers at art@scapecrunch.com.

Judging and Awards​

Judging will be conducted with each aquascape identified only by number; i.e. the judges will not know the identity of the person whose aquascape they are considering. Judges do not communicate with each other when scoring each aquascape.

Within each category, each judge's ranking (not raw score) for the aquascapes will be harmonically averaged to determine the overall placing of aquascapes within the category. Awards (1st, 2nd and 3rd place) will be given to the three highest placed aquascapes. Overall placings 4~10 be acknowledged as "top ten" (presented in aquarium volume order, not placing order!). There is no ribbon or other physical award for top ten; it is a bragging rights award only.

After the winners are tabulated, the judges will also choose, by vote, a Best of Show aquascape. They will communicate with each other over this decision.

Judges are asked provide feedback on the qualities of each aquascape in the contest. These comments will be placed on the website associated with the appropriate aquascapes. After the winners are announced, judges may be available (at their discretion) on ScapeCrunch.com where aquascapers can post a photo and request commentary.

The decisions of the judges are final.

Garden Style Aquascape​

The garden style aquascape is easily identifiable because it is different than many of the other aquascaping styles. It is closely related to the Dutch aquascaping style and, hence, it has been called the Dutch-inspired aquascape. Some refer to it as the fruit stand look and Takashi Amano referred to it as the flowerbed style.

The contest will be divided by aquarium volume. The choice of how many divisions and precisely where the splits occur is based on participation and is up to the discretion of the judges and organizers. However, we will begin with the following as tentative:

• Less than 80L
• 80L - 220L
• 220L - 320L
• >320L

There are four basic criteria that the judges consider when reviewing each aquascape:

1. Overall Impression - maximum 70 points​

• Does the aquascape make a significant positive visual impression upon the viewer?
• Do all parts of the aquascape work together to present a harmonious whole?

2. Composition, Balance, Use of Space, Use of Color - maximum 60 points​

• Is the aquascape layed out well?
• Does balance exist between the various components of the aquascape? Is space within the aquarium used effectively? Do open areas exist and balance and complement more enclosed spaces?
• Are the plants well grouped, and are the groups well defined?
• Are the colors of the various elements of the aquascape (including animals) complementary and do they work well together?
• Are traditional compositional rules followed, such as the rule of thirds, and are focal points used?

3. Contrast of colors and textures - maximum 40 points​

• Does the aquarist make good use of differences in color, leaf size and shape, and height (growth habit or trimming) to maximize contrast between groups of plants?
• Does the aquarist effectively use differences in height and plant group shape to create a sense of flow and depth?
• Is there a plant “street”? If so, is it easily discerned and does it enhance the sense of depth of the aquascape?
• Do the species and planting enhance or detract from the sense of depth and scale?

4. Selection, Use and Health of Plants, Hardscape Materials, and Animals - maximum 30 points​

• Has the aquarist selected plants appropriately?
• Are the plants healthy and well trimmed?
• If a Specimen Plant is used as a focal point, does it blend well with the aquascape or is it overpowering? i.e., does it draw and hold the eye too strongly or is it simply too large?
• Do the colors, shape, and size of the fish chosen harmonize with the plants?
• Are schooling fish present in sufficient numbers to make a suitable school?
• If hardscape materials are present, are they used sparingly as a stand alone element?

Photographs​

Photo requirements:

• One (1) Photo per entry - must be a full tank shot from the front only. No top-down or angled photos please.
• Highest Resolution Possible
• Limited editing only; no cloning, compositing, smudging, or other effects.
• No borders or frames, please
• The aquascaper may alter an image only for color correction, lens and distortion correction, rotation, brightness, shadow/highlight contrast and/or sharpness. HDR filtering is also permitted.

While the focus of this event is on the aquascape shown in the images, the aquascaper is encouraged to try and provide the clearest, sharpest images possible. The better the images that are provided, the better they will reproduce and display. The website currently only accepts JPEG images, but there is no size or quality limit.

Any modification that effectively alters the content of original image is grounds for immediate disqualification. Such alterations include, but are not limited to:

• cloning elements of the image to remove an imperfection or improve the appearance (eg., retouching out a snail or a piece of algae).
• Selectively compositing multiple images to improve the overall image (eg., creating a 'perfect' school of fish from parts of different photographs).
• Selectively coloring areas of the aquascape with a transparent solid color to artificially enhance the color of plants.
• Selectively blacking out the background to hide equipment or other flaws.

Images submitted should not have the photographer's name or copyright notice superimposed over the image. Images should not include the aquascaper or other people in the picture. Judging needs to be anonymous, and this information could affect the impartial evaluation of aquascapes. We will add a copyright in the final website.

All aquascapers must agree to a Photo Release before their aquascapes will be accepted into the contest.

How to Enter​

Submit your entry! Or, click on "Enter GSAC" in the navigation bar.