# ADA 2005 Top 7 -- better quality photos + tank specs



## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

ADA Europe has finally published the winners of the ADA 2005 Contest on their website. The photos are of MUCH higher quality than the ones on www.akwarium.org. I hope these photos provide a different perspective. Also included are details on tank dimensions, volume, fish, and plants. Enjoy!

001 Title: Towering Strange Peaks, Creator: Chen De Quan








Aquarium Size / W120xD50xH45 (cm)

Aquatic Plants
- Rotala rotundifolia var. snow
- Riccia sp.
- Ludwigia sp.
- Urticularia bifida
- Eleocharis acicularis
- Microcarpaea minima
- Hemianthus micranthemoides
- Rotala sp.
- Fontinalis antipyretica
- Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides

Fish & Invertebrates
- Paracheirodon simulans
- Crossocheilus siamensis

002 Title: Big Tree fleeced with Moss, Creator: Fumio Shiga








Aquarium Size / W150xD55xH60 (cm)

Aquatic Plants
- Microsorium sp.
- Isoetes japonica
- Eleocharis acicularis
- Bolbitis heudelotii
- Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
- Cryptocoryne wendtii "brown"
- Eleocharis acicularis
- Nymphaea lotus var. virdis
- Vesicularia sp.

Fish & Invertebrates
- Otocinclus sp.
- Hemigrammus bleheri
- Caridina japonica

003 Title: Season Autumn Coloring, Creator: Kazun








Aquarium Size / W250xD55xH60 (cm)

Aquatic Plants
- Rotala rotundifolia
- Bolbitis heudelotii
- Riccia fluitans
- Nesaea sp.
- Anubias barteri var. nana
- Fontinalis antipyretica
- Sagittaria subulata var. pusilla
- Blyxa novoguineensis
- Microsorium pteropus
- Microsorium sp.
- Vesicularia sp.

Fish & Invertebrates
- Paracheirodon axelrodi
- Otocinclus sp.
- Caridina japonica
- Neocaridina denticulata

...for all the rest:

http://www.adaeuro.com/gallery.asp?g_id=9#

Carlos


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## ruckert (Sep 9, 2005)

More pics of ADA Contest 2005:
http://www.adana-th.com/limagegal/thumnail/2005_1.htm


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## standoyo (Aug 25, 2005)

not sure about 2nd place but 1st and third are fantastic...


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Look how different a good image makes to an aquascape. This is layout #8, I believe:

On akwarium.org, it looks like this: 









On the site ruckert posted, it looks like this:









Big difference!

Carlos


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Not saying I would be able to produce better or worse if I had the same idea as these scapers (that is my disclaimer btw )....


Tank 1:
Initially when I saw it, I didn't really care for it. I think I am starting to like it more than I initially did as time goes on. I still don't think it is a #1 tank. I think part of why it got #1 is that it is a nice execution of something very different to the hobby. I do like the effect of the wild mixed foreground (but it feels too overgrown) which has a very "old" look to it.. I don't don't like how it abruptly cliffdives to a highly contrasting white sand. Something that bugs me a lot is the need to follow convention. The 1/3 rule on splutting the rocks (oh, that looks like 1/3, lets remove that stone) and the obligatory single red plan both annoy the hell out of me.

Tank2: 
I really really like the moss and bobitus on that wood arrangement. So often (I fall into that category), we look for branchy wood. THis layout does a wonderfull job with using "lumpy" wood which most others would disreguard. If I was to pick something I don't like about it, it would be the nymphaea and the lack of depth (lost on the sides).

Tank #3
I like this tank. I'd rather have it in my home than the #1 and #2 tanks. It is loaded with diversity in a very harmonious way. It has a very old "I've been growing for ages" look that I reallly like. The depth of the scape is helped along nicely by the subtle transition between the left mound and the right which appears to go behind the left one.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Number 3 is also my favorite in this group. Notice the incredible depth created by the driftwood branches. They gradually become thinner and thinner as you look toward the back. I think the rather cache cardinal tetras work very well in this mostly green layout.

Carlos


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## chubasco (Jan 16, 2005)

Though I'm just a beginner, I too, think #3 is the standout. The first one looks
like a moss-covered sunken Stonehenge, s'okay, must've gotten extra points
for originality?

Bill


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## Bob Vivian (Sep 10, 2004)

I find entry #1 to be truly remarkable. IMO it's originality and creativity is head and shoulders above the others. Ever seen anything remotely like it? Me neither.

We should avoid undervaluing originality. It is opening new doors for the rest of us in the hobby.

I love entry #3 for the empty space. Zen gardening, and all other forms of art for that matter, tell us that empty space is at least as important to a composition as the filled space. I think it's the key to the interaction of the viewer with the artwork. 

That open, empty area in the front/center just sucks the viewer into the middle of all that green growth. I think Mr. Mitsuda would like us to imagine we're standing on the sand looking up in awe at the beauty around us.

Bob


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## standoyo (Aug 25, 2005)

layout 8 really looks much better with better pictures but for the stems at the back looks not bushy enough or just not the right choice...


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## chubasco (Jan 16, 2005)

Bob Vivian said:


> I find entry #1 to be truly remarkable. IMO it's originality and creativity is head and shoulders above the others. Ever seen anything remotely like it? Me neither.
> 
> We should avoid undervaluing originality. It is opening new doors for the rest of us in the hobby.


Yes, I have seen similar to this, but it was not underwater, but above ground
in SEA. Some in SEA have a penchant for depicting land scenes underwater,
which I don't care for, and this is of that ilk. I can admire the creativity, the
technique, even though I don't care for it. I share much your same views of
#3.

Bill


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## rashev (Apr 21, 2005)

standoyo said:


> not sure about 2nd place but 1st and third are fantastic...


...and I too:-k


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

All of the entries in the top ten are incredible, but I keep finding myself going back to look at Vladimir Uzhik's 5th place tank. The surreal colors and layering of his planting are the most impressive I've ever seen. I have to admit I love Dutch aquascaping and his tank combines elements of both Nature and Dutch design in a very homogenous way. His tank is my favorite without a doubt.


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