Fame and Glory: Art, GreggZ, Dennis and Dutch Garden Aquascaping!

[JayP]

So what I'd like to hear more about is this "Scapecrunch Inaugural Garden Style Aquascaping Contest" in 2023. What came of that? It would be cool to have another forum aquascaping contest.

 

[Art]

Hi all, wonderful conversation! I love it!

I don’t have any answers but sharing some initial thoughts.

Dutch style was developed many years ago to be aesthetically pleasing, technically sound and based on the equipment available at the time. While I certainly appreciate clear rules, IMO they benefit but also limit the style. Nevertheless, the rules allow for judging as it allows you to compare apples to apples.

I used the term Dutch Impressionism because I felt the evolving garden style has common elements with the Dutch style. Giving homage to the Dutch style in the name made sense and would give people a framework on what they are looking at.

Like impressionist paintings, to me, the new garden style is more about feelings than fine detail. It’s about broad, soft brush strokes rather than clearly defined streets. It’s about free creativity within wide guardrails - “use stem plants as the main plants”.

This makes judging garden style tanks harder because it requires much more subjectivity from those judging. It’s not apples to apples but rather fruit to fruit.

That said, so what if it’s subjective and difficult? Art is meant to evoke a feeling in each viewer and that is always subjective. I think some clear judging criteria can be developed like we did with the contest and the best examples bubble up to the top. If you look at our forum of the contest, you’ll see what we came up with.

 

[Art]

So what I'd like to hear more about is this "Scapecrunch Inaugural Garden Style Aquascaping Contest" in 2023. What came of that? It would be cool to have another forum aquascaping contest.

Yes, it would be cool. No doubt.

It is A TON of work and requires A TON of commitment from a group of people to pull off. We did not have the ability to do it again.

Maybe when I retire, I can convince a few of you to devote the time it takes. We’ll see.

It did make me appreciate the amount of work the AGA team puts into this annually. Perhaps we should partner with them to sponsor a category for this style in their contest?

 

[Burr740]

I'll have you know, it takes a lot of time and work to pile that wood and those rocks in just the right way.

Oh absolutely! I have so much respect for those creations. In fact I would like to do some of that myself one day. Obsessing over the exact positioning, and fine tuning the placement after seeing the first draft and pondering it for a little while...all that would be right up my alley!

However thats another issue I have with calling them "gardens". Once the hardscape is in place 90% of the work is done. Its finished, just have to wait for slow growing plants to fill in, maybe a little snip here and there

With Dutch or Garden style, any plant-only scape, the work is just beginning after the first plant. Pruning and shaping everything as it grows to bring the desired look home is where the real skills come in

Actually, I really admire the Nature Style tanks and all of the work that goes into them. I agree though that “Aquatic Garden” should be the name for the Dutch and Garden Style tanks. My problem with the competition Nature tanks is that they aren’t built to last. A lot of them are just “smoke and mirrors.” I think all of the categories should have potential longevity as a criterion.

I agree. As a matter of fact 'Long term viability' is a part of the stated judging criteria, aka 'Guidelines' for almost every category. Here is what is says for Aquatic Gardens. Dutch and other category guidelines read basically the same

Viability of Aquascape – maximum 30 points

• Is the aquascape set up in a manner which, with proper maintenance, is likely to lead to long term (one year or more) success of the aquarium?
• If used, are the plants selected for the aquascape appropriate for long term use in an aquarium?
• Are the animals selected as inhabitants of the tank likely to cause damage to one another or to the aquascape itself? Are the animals appropriate to the size of the tank that houses them?

I chuckle at the second one about plants - "if used" lol whaaat

Complete guidelines for every category can be seen HERE

Hi all, wonderful conversation! I love it!

I don’t have any answers but sharing some initial thoughts.

Dutch style was developed many years ago to be aesthetically pleasing, technically sound and based on the equipment available at the time. While I certainly appreciate clear rules, IMO they benefit but also limit the style. Nevertheless, the rules allow for judging as it allows you to compare apples to apples.

I used the term Dutch Impressionism because I felt the evolving garden style has common elements with the Dutch style. Giving homage to the Dutch style in the name made sense and would give people a framework on what they are looking at.

Like impressionist paintings, to me, the new garden style is more about feelings than fine detail. It’s about broad, soft brush strokes rather than clearly defined streets. It’s about free creativity within wide guardrails - “use stem plants as the main plants”.

This makes judging garden style tanks harder because it requires much more subjectivity from those judging. It’s not apples to apples but rather fruit to fruit.

That said, so what if it’s subjective and difficult? Art is meant to evoke a feeling in each viewer and that is always subjective. I think some clear judging criteria can be developed like we did with the contest and the best examples bubble up to the top. If you look at our forum of the contest, you’ll see what we came up with.

Well said. Fwiw all my comments on making a new category refer to the AGA contest. Though obviously there has to be some criteria in place regardless

I really liked the guidelines for the ScapeCrunch Garden Style contest. I know youve been busy but Id love to see that be an annual thing. Its the ONLY place in the world where all these beautiful 'Garden style Dutch inspired Collectoritis tanks' that we are talking about can be shown. Its what the vast majority of hobbyists in our circle have, not just here but social media and everywhere. Its a HUGE slice of the hobby. Dare I say its the future of the hobby

Fun Fact: The first AGA contest only had 70 entries.

 

[deepgreen]

Well said. Fwiw all my comments on making a new category refer to the AGA contest. Though obviously there has to be some criteria in place regardless

One possibility could be to contrast the true Dutch tanks with, for example. Cheatta's tank. I think everybody can agree that they are very distinct. By describing what makes them distinct, one could come up with criteria. Both types of tanks seem to be at different ends of a continuum that may allow to categorize tanks in two different categories. May sound easier as it is. However, when we have the impression they are distinct, it should be possible to put this in words.

 

[deepgreen]

As a brainstorming exercise I have listed the current AGA Dutch rules and a potential alternative for Dutch freestyle rules to give some ideas how the two concepts could be separated. All quickly done. There is obvious overlap, but also some distinct differences.

Judging Breakdown



Dutch rules

# freestyle rules (brainstorming)

Overall Impression – maximum 50 points

• Does the aquarium as a whole; plants, fish, and hardscape, create a positive visual impact?
• Do all parts of the aquarium work together to present a harmonious and cohesive whole?
• Do the plants and animals appear healthy?
• No hardware should be visible.

# No difference

Composition: Balance, Use of Space, Use of Color – maximum 60 points

• Is the aquascape layed out well?

# Same

• Does the aquarist make effective use of the “Rule of Thirds” to create (a) focal point(s)? (Tanks 36” or less in length should not have more than one focal point.)

# No rule of thirds, but symmetry should be avoided

• Are the plants well grouped, and are the groups well defined? (Traditional NBAT rules dictate a small space between groups)

# A balance between blending groups and defined groups

• 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? (Groups of neighboring plants should clearly be of different heights)

# A balanced mixture between blending colors, life size, and shape and well-defined groups. Contrast should be harmonic and strong contrast should not overpower the impression.

• Does the aquarist effectively use differences in height and plant group shape to create a sense of flow and depth?

# The same?

• Is there a plant “street”? If so, is it easily discerned and does it enhance the sense of depth of the aquascape?

# A balanced mixture of different shapes of plant groups (linear, round, ...) without one shape dominating the scape

• Are the back and sides are planted? Do the species and planting enhance or detract from the sense of depth and scale? (Traditional NBAT rules dictate the portion of the walls not covered by species in the substrate be planted.)

# Effective use of open space without open space dominating the scape

Selection & Use of Plants, Hardscape Materials, and Animals – maximum 50 points

• Has the aquarist selected plants appropriately?

# Same

• Traditional NBAT rules dictate use of no more than 1 plant species per 10 cm/4 inches of tank length (sometimes up to 2 more species per tank if their use doesn’t detract from the aquascape; judge’s discretion). Has the aquarist effectively used a limited number of species?

# No limit – but species selection should effectively contribute to the impression of the scape (no chaotic placement without harmony?)

• 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?

# No specific focal point defined by one plant

• 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? (Traditional NBAT rules dictate at least 12 fish per schooling species)

# Same?

• If hardscape materials are present, are they used sparingly as a stand alone element? (A single piece of wood or a rock may be acceptable according to NBAT rules if it enhances the aquascape. Wood and/or rocks used as structure and mostly covered by epiphytes does not count.)

# Hardscape allowed, but should be restricted to a minor element if used.

• Are planted sides and rear panes present or absent? There should be no visible glass except for the front viewing pane. (This criteria only addresses the presence/absence of planted walls as a hardscape/design element for clarity. If planted walls are not present or if glass is visible deduct points. Use of walls should be considered as part of Composition.)

# Effective use of open space without open space dominating the scape (as above)



Viability of Aquascape – maximum 40 points

• With appropriate grooming and maintenance, are the plants selected suitable for use in the aquarium if maintained as-is for a long period?
• If visible, are the fish and other animals likely to be too large for the aquarium, cause damage to the aquascape, or each other at adult size?

# Same

 

[Adam Ragusea]

Hey all, so gratifying to see such thoughtful and productive discussion inspired by my article! Thanks to Art, Gregg and everybody else who shared their thoughts with me.

Frankly I was nervous when the issue came in the mail, because I wrote this so long ago now. I’m new to the hobby and I know a lot more than I did six months ago! But aside from slightly misusing the word “pruning” I think I did ok. Thanks again for reading and for picking up the ball right where I hoped y’all would.

Adam

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Love it Adam. Only wish we saw you more around here!

 

[Adam Ragusea]

Love it Adam. Only wish we saw you more around here!

Well, check it, I'm trying a garden-style container pond in a bathtub. Planted a week ago today!

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Look so sweet! Is it CO2 injected?

 

[BranchScape]

Well, check it, I'm trying a garden-style container pond in a bathtub. Planted a week ago today!

View attachment 15613View attachment 15614

Yeah the more details on the setup the better. I see the C02 tank so that is feeding it. Is the only light the bar/tube led in the tank?

 

[Adam Ragusea]

Yeah the more details on the setup the better. I see the C02 tank so that is feeding it. Is the only light the bar/tube led in the tank?

No prob! All of my tanks are in a greenhouse, so the artificial lighting I use is purely decorative. The light generated by the tube LED in the tub isn't even visible until the sun goes down, so I have it on a short timer that gives me a couple hours of viewing time after dusk.

There is CO2, and the tub system is plumbed into my "water table" above to the left, which I built over a year ago, but it's suddenly getting CO2 now so it's rapidly greening. (The table is just a wood frame with pond liner nailed in.) An OASE canister filter brings water up from the tub into the table and gravity pulls it back down to the tub via the black drain pipe on the left. In the event of power outage, the table outflow is positioned so that only about a third of the water would drain out, and I just leave enough excess capacity in the tub to absorb that runoff without overfowing.

The tub itself replaces a no-CO2 galvanized steel trough that I had in that spot/system for a few years. The trough looked cool but it leached zinc into the water and killed any invertebrate I put in there. The tub is acrylic, so it should be inert. I capped-off the drain at the bottom. There's a layer of pumice with aquaLife Andisol aquasoil on top, about half of which I reused from a previous tank. For fertilization, I generally use only root tabs in the greenhouse — dosing the water column just seems to go bad every time I try it in this much light.

I'm sure it's been done before, but I've never seen a really aquascaped container pond, so I'll be really curious to see if this works. Going great so far! It's very fun and physically natural to plant down into the bottom of a tub on the floor in front of you, instead of craning yourself into an aquarium that's up on a stand.

 

[BranchScape]

Wow that is an amazing setup, love the idea of setting it all up as a bit of a planted sump for the water table. Would make a great journal to follow the whole systems progress.