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AGA Convention 2026

  • Thread starter Thread starter BenB
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Do we have any youtube record for Chantz's speech because i really want to watch it ( i cant really come)
Besides, is there any new species bidding there?
Chantz hasn't spoken yet. That is later today. I'm not sure if the talks are being recorded. The AGA usually has them on their own web page and not on YouTube.

The auction is tomorrow. I don't know about any knew species. Maybe @HardeeParty knows. Looks like maybe he helped someone? 😁 He better not be here and not have said Hey. :ROFLMAO:
 
Chantz hasn't spoken yet. That is later today. I'm not sure if the talks are being recorded. The AGA usually has them on their own web page and not on YouTube.

The auction is tomorrow. I don't know about any knew species. Maybe @HardeeParty knows. Looks like maybe he helped someone? 😁 He better not be here and not have said Hey. :ROFLMAO:
We had some kindergarten homework to finish this weekend, but I’m there in spirit. Everything in Chantz lecture is new to the hobby except for maybe Eriocaulon compressum.

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We had some kindergarten homework to finish this weekend, but I’m there in spirit. Everything in Chantz lecture is new to the hobby except for maybe Eriocaulon compressum.
Hopefully you can come next time. Chantz's talk was excellent. I've never been interested in collecting myself, but even though he didn't speak as much about the collection process itself, it made me interested in heading to the coast in NC and seeing what I can find. I've seen a dozen plant collecting talks and never wanted to go get out and do it before. He had good pics and info on the plants, but not too much so that it was overkill. A great balance of collecting, some science, growing tips.... etc. It was just really well done.

There was also talk by Michelle Conrey about plant nutrients. I was awesome as well. It was different from most approaches as it wasn't as much about you need X amount of a nutrient as from the point of view of plant physiology and nutrients gradients, ratios, transport, pH, etc. One example, with the disclaimer that there are many mitigating factors, was describing Mulder's Chart of Nutrient Interactions where it shows that Ca and Mg compete with K for uptake in plants. So if your plants appear to be K deficient, and your GH is very high, the solution might not be to add more K, but to just reduce your GH a bit. (again with emphasizing there are many factors at play in these systems)

Its lunch time here. I'm going to post a few more pics and then see what I can find.
 
This is the Lifeguard Aquatics table. They had a lot of awesome stuff.
They have the AIO tanks you can see in the second pic. I believe someone has a journal where they are modifying the sump on theirs. Its always great to be able to look at some of this stuff in person before buying if it's something you're thinking about.

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This is a couple of the Lifeguard aquariums and stands that were aquascaped. The fronts on the stands are magnetic. They were nice.
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This was the aquascaping workshop.
Below are the stations with tanks and supplies. For the cost of the workshop, you got to take home the tank, supplies, and any aquascaping items, wood, rock, plants, and/or substrate, you put in them. Unfortunately, the tank won't go in the overhead bin on the plane back to NC.
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These are the supplies available to you to make your scape.
You also had a mentor, if you wanted, to help guide you.
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Lastly, some pics of David Chow's aquascaping demonstration.
He didn't talk much while he was working to describe his process, but he answered many audience questions.
He's still working on it this morning. I'll try to get a pic later. I'm not sure if they are going to fill it with water because he didn't glue anything down. The wood will just float to the surface.
Sorry some of the pics are grainy. I was taking from the back of the room all zoomed in.
Everything you see, tank, stand, light, supplies, filter, aquascape, etc will be auctioned off Sunday.
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Omid, Vinny, Barr, the guy who owns Aqua Rocks Colorado (I was told), me, and Dennis
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So remember this one, because Aqua Rocks Colorado just announced they were going to be selling Tom's manzanita wood soon. Deals are happening behind the scenes. 😁
 
Here are some random pictures of tanks from the aquascaping and Wabi Kusa workshops.
It would be best if I cropped some of the pics, but its late, I'm dead, and there are still people up talking. It's been a great time. I'm not the best with social, but I'm going to the hospitality suite for a few minutes.

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Final Pics of David Chow's Aquascape
I agree with @Noahspapa, this scape is hard to get a good pic of. Not only that, in person, it's a lot to take in. At first I thought it was a hot mess and didn't like it, but after he put plants in, and I had more time to think about it, it's really awesome. There are so many elements. I think it will be amazing. If whomever buys it gets it home in one piece, I hope they post a pic somewhere of how it grew out. Video at the bottom. I've never edited video before, but I had to take the audio out. I hope it works.
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Dave’s tank flooded. Looks much better to the naked eye. My photo doesn’t do it justice.

Final Pics of David Chow's Aquascape
I agree with @Noahspapa, this scape is hard to get a good pic of. Not only that, in person, it's a lot to take in. At first I thought it was a hot mess and didn't like it, but after he put plants in, and I had more time to think about it, it's really awesome. There are so many elements. I think it will be amazing. If whomever buys it gets it home in one piece, I hope they post a pic somewhere of how it grew out. Video at the bottom. I've never edited video before, but I had to take the audio out. I hope it works.
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Looks like Dave Chow was scaping a variation of his Phoenix Reborn scape? This is the version he did at AquaFlora several years ago. At least it has a bit of a step by step for those that couldn't attend.
 
Hopefully you can come next time. Chantz's talk was excellent. I've never been interested in collecting myself, but even though he didn't speak as much about the collection process itself, it made me interested in heading to the coast in NC and seeing what I can find. I've seen a dozen plant collecting talks and never wanted to go get out and do it before. He had good pics and info on the plants, but not too much so that it was overkill. A great balance of collecting, some science, growing tips.... etc. It was just really well done.

There was also talk by Michelle Conrey about plant nutrients. I was awesome as well. It was different from most approaches as it wasn't as much about you need X amount of a nutrient as from the point of view of plant physiology and nutrients gradients, ratios, transport, pH, etc. One example, with the disclaimer that there are many mitigating factors, was describing Mulder's Chart of Nutrient Interactions where it shows that Ca and Mg compete with K for uptake in plants. So if your plants appear to be K deficient, and your GH is very high, the solution might not be to add more K, but to just reduce your GH a bit. (again with emphasizing there are many factors at play in these systems)

Its lunch time here. I'm going to post a few more pics and then see what I can find.
Do we have a list of the plants he mentioned
 

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