Dutch Aquascape

Comments

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.
— Marco Aukes
First Place
#583
New World
Miguel Ángel García Plágaro
Spain
Second Place
#793
Through The Looking Glass
Joe Harvey
United States
Third Place
#890
Dutch 2.0
Raj Mahakul
United States
Top Ten
#748
Rainbow Performance
Pavlina Pevna
Czech Republic
Top Ten
#550
Escape from Lockdown
Paul Harris
United Kingdom
#239
Low tech Dutch
P. Patel
United States
#623
persian Garden
Ali Rezaee
Iran
#394
楽園
高島 強
Japan
#580
Ulala plant
Iwan wibawa gunawan
Indonesia
#822
Little England - Tally
Yogesh Pandiyan
India
#780
aquarium nature
JONATHAN AQUÁRIO HOLANDÊS
Brazil
#851
The Garden of Colors
Cimpoeriu Lucian
Romania
#120
Fallen Autumn
Irena Homoncik
United Kingdom
Victor Huang
United States
#170
Color COVID
Farhad Taraj
Iran
#690
Heaven's Garden
Mustafa AKGÜL
Turkey
#691
Green Garden
Mustafa AKGÜL
Turkey
#415
Jardim de fogo
Marcelo Ebrahim Dowsley Coura Filho
Brazil
#442
Vivid dreams
Alen Hodžić
Croatia
#422
Color is a beauty and serenity
SHAHIFAZRIN BIN SAMSUDIN
Malaysia
#333
The Royal Bengal Aqua Garden
Rumon Khan
Bangladesh
#262
Another puzzle
Zapartan Flaviu
Romania
#265
Puzzle
Zapartan Flaviu
Romania
#200
Paradise gate
M Reza Mazinanian
Iran
#192
Aquagarden Park
Matteo Masotti
Italy
#500
Mijn privé bakkie
Jan-Willem Hietbrink
Netherlands

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