What a fabulous collection of pretty tanks! Horticultural skill in the hobby today is truly impressive. Having watched the AGA contest closely for 20 years and having been through the pre-CO2 phosphate-phobic days I'm thrilled that people can grow plants so well these days.
Sadly only 4 of 26 entries this year can claim to be true Dutch tanks.
Some of the best looking tanks are ranked low because aquarists simply do not know the rules of Dutch composition. I expect several entrants to feel wronged because less attractive tanks ranked higher than theirs.
Wall-to-wall meadows of red stem plants does not make it a Dutch tank. The thought 'If only they knew the rules they'd easily win this!' crossed my mind several times.
To counter this I will help the AGA publish a free downloadable PDF that clearly outlines the Do's and Dont's of Dutch style aquascaping. Read it. Apply it. Come back next year and dominate.
— Vin Kutty
The entries in this category keep getting better and better! As always scoring the top entries came down to tiny little details. You should all be proud.
Sadly we're still having issues with people not reading the rules and submitting tanks that don't fit the requirements for being a true Dutch aquascape. This is a type of aquascape that requires adherence to a strict set of guidelines to be considered appropriate for the category. When designing your aquascape please take the time to research what an actual Dutch aquascape is and read the category rules carefully before entering.
— Phil Edwards
The Dutch Style category really is meant for the scapes that are defined by the rules of this style: limitation in amount of plants strong contrasts in leaf shapes and colours and good variation in heights of the plants. We also want to see strong and healthy groups of plants that clearly stand out from their "neighbours". Of course the style is also influenced by more modern touches and approaches but that still does not mean the basics should be put aside.
Luckily we see more and more competitors entering this category that follow those basics. And one will see from the top rankings that there are many different approaches on the style.
If your tank is low ranked that does not mean it does not look nice. It most of the times means that you have not followed the basic principles of the Dutch Style.
Spain
United States
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
Iran
Japan
Indonesia
India
Brazil
Romania
Turkey
Croatia
Malaysia
Bangladesh
Italy
Netherlands
Comments
Sadly only 4 of 26 entries this year can claim to be true Dutch tanks.
Some of the best looking tanks are ranked low because aquarists simply do not know the rules of Dutch composition. I expect several entrants to feel wronged because less attractive tanks ranked higher than theirs.
Wall-to-wall meadows of red stem plants does not make it a Dutch tank. The thought 'If only they knew the rules they'd easily win this!' crossed my mind several times.
To counter this I will help the AGA publish a free downloadable PDF that clearly outlines the Do's and Dont's of Dutch style aquascaping. Read it. Apply it. Come back next year and dominate.
Sadly we're still having issues with people not reading the rules and submitting tanks that don't fit the requirements for being a true Dutch aquascape. This is a type of aquascape that requires adherence to a strict set of guidelines to be considered appropriate for the category. When designing your aquascape please take the time to research what an actual Dutch aquascape is and read the category rules carefully before entering.
Luckily we see more and more competitors entering this category that follow those basics. And one will see from the top rankings that there are many different approaches on the style.
If your tank is low ranked that does not mean it does not look nice. It most of the times means that you have not followed the basic principles of the Dutch Style.