Steve Smith
Member
Hi all. Apologies for the delay in getting the results out. As I'm sure you can appreciate, things have been very busy for the judges, with the tropica visit, TV appearances and lord knows what else! Getting the UKAPS and Aquascaping ideals to a wider audience is never a bad thing!
I'd like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone for entering what was a hotly contested competition. Everyone really got into the spirit of things and from the looks of it had lots of fun! The quality of entries was fantastic and I think everyone deserves recognition for taking part, and producing some lovely pico scapes! So, well done everyone!
So, onto the results. The following are the top 5 aquascapes and judges comments in reverse order.
The Results.
The Top 5 were all very strong, and there were a few points separating them all. Congratulations to everyone for entering, and we hope you had fun setting them up and maintaining them!
Fifth place
Jason Griffiths – Pico Paradise
George Farmer:
Very good. The final pic is excellent and shows off the aquascape well. Good choice of plants and hardscape. The wood arrangement is quite different but effective. Good work.
Dan Crawford:
I love the attention to detail on this tank. Nice use of similar substrate tones with high contrast planting.
Graeme Edwards:
A very unique design, very well executed.
Fourth place
Tonser – Prehistoric Pico
George Farmer:
Very nice! Interesting rock works and effective graded gravels/sand. The ‘parrot’s feather’ planting looks like trees which gives a creative touch. Some of the Bolbitis looks a little sorry for itself and I’m not sure if it adds much to the design. Overall, a strong piece of work.
Dan Crawford:
Wonderful, a real jurassic feel to it. Superb attention to detail although maybe some other plant species would suit the aquascape better, i do understand the cost limitation though, very well done with such a small budget.
Graeme Edwards:
Really nice work, everything just works so well together!
Third place
Stu Worrall – Dragon Quarrry
George Farmer:
Excellent. The hardscape is well composed and the angular main stones add good impact that is reflected thoughtfully in the smaller pices around the base and sand. Planting is a little light but it doesn’t spoil the design in any way. Very nice work.
Dan Crawford:
I love this tank, the foreground is fantastic! It's only downfall is the lack of plant species. The hardscape is very well chosen and the burnt tones work very well together. Lovely work.
Graeme Edwards:
Brilliant name, very well chosen and it suits the aquascape perfectly! Very nice attention to detail, the tank would benefit from an extra plant species but this is a very small downfall to a great looking pico.
Runner-up
Samc – Untitled
George Farmer:
Wonderful little tank. The progress shots look great, and it’s good to see how you did everything. The path works well between the two stones and composition is well-balanced. Nice plant choice and health completes the picture very well. Superb effort.
Dan Crawford:
My personal favorite. A lot of thought and effort has been put into this aquascape. Adding moss balls to the edges of the path way is a great method of creating a natural transition and this one has been executed perfectly. The growth is great and the sense of scale is wonderful very very well done!
Graeme Edwards:
I'm a huge iwagumi fan and also a pico fan so this one scores particularly highly with me. You've used some nice, different rocks and the pathway works very well. Your well chosen plants are growing well. All in all, a great little iwagumi.
Winner
James Marshall – Fell’s Crag
George Farmer:
Excellent. Nice use of materials, good composition and healthy plants. Presented very well too, showing off the aquascape nicely and doing it the justice it deserves. Very well done indeed.
Dan Crawford:
Awesome plant health, stunning design and clearly a long running feasible pico, fantastic.
Graeme Edwards:
A unique compesition, typical of your style, healthy plants and clearly well maintained, very well done.
Congratulations James Marshall for "Fell's Crag"! And congrats to the rest of the top five; Sam, Stu, Tony and Jason for some fantastic scapes. After seeing all of the entries I was certainly glad not to be judging. I can't imagine, with the quality of entries, it was an easy task! Again, thank you to everyone for entering, and thank you to George, Dan and Graeme for judging the contest.
We'll sort out the prizes in the next few days, so don't worry
Thanks again everyone 🙂
Steve.
I'd like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone for entering what was a hotly contested competition. Everyone really got into the spirit of things and from the looks of it had lots of fun! The quality of entries was fantastic and I think everyone deserves recognition for taking part, and producing some lovely pico scapes! So, well done everyone!
So, onto the results. The following are the top 5 aquascapes and judges comments in reverse order.
The Results.
The Top 5 were all very strong, and there were a few points separating them all. Congratulations to everyone for entering, and we hope you had fun setting them up and maintaining them!
Fifth place
Jason Griffiths – Pico Paradise
George Farmer:
Very good. The final pic is excellent and shows off the aquascape well. Good choice of plants and hardscape. The wood arrangement is quite different but effective. Good work.
Dan Crawford:
I love the attention to detail on this tank. Nice use of similar substrate tones with high contrast planting.
Graeme Edwards:
A very unique design, very well executed.
Fourth place
Tonser – Prehistoric Pico
George Farmer:
Very nice! Interesting rock works and effective graded gravels/sand. The ‘parrot’s feather’ planting looks like trees which gives a creative touch. Some of the Bolbitis looks a little sorry for itself and I’m not sure if it adds much to the design. Overall, a strong piece of work.
Dan Crawford:
Wonderful, a real jurassic feel to it. Superb attention to detail although maybe some other plant species would suit the aquascape better, i do understand the cost limitation though, very well done with such a small budget.
Graeme Edwards:
Really nice work, everything just works so well together!
Third place
Stu Worrall – Dragon Quarrry
George Farmer:
Excellent. The hardscape is well composed and the angular main stones add good impact that is reflected thoughtfully in the smaller pices around the base and sand. Planting is a little light but it doesn’t spoil the design in any way. Very nice work.
Dan Crawford:
I love this tank, the foreground is fantastic! It's only downfall is the lack of plant species. The hardscape is very well chosen and the burnt tones work very well together. Lovely work.
Graeme Edwards:
Brilliant name, very well chosen and it suits the aquascape perfectly! Very nice attention to detail, the tank would benefit from an extra plant species but this is a very small downfall to a great looking pico.
Runner-up
Samc – Untitled
George Farmer:
Wonderful little tank. The progress shots look great, and it’s good to see how you did everything. The path works well between the two stones and composition is well-balanced. Nice plant choice and health completes the picture very well. Superb effort.
Dan Crawford:
My personal favorite. A lot of thought and effort has been put into this aquascape. Adding moss balls to the edges of the path way is a great method of creating a natural transition and this one has been executed perfectly. The growth is great and the sense of scale is wonderful very very well done!
Graeme Edwards:
I'm a huge iwagumi fan and also a pico fan so this one scores particularly highly with me. You've used some nice, different rocks and the pathway works very well. Your well chosen plants are growing well. All in all, a great little iwagumi.
Winner
James Marshall – Fell’s Crag
George Farmer:
Excellent. Nice use of materials, good composition and healthy plants. Presented very well too, showing off the aquascape nicely and doing it the justice it deserves. Very well done indeed.
Dan Crawford:
Awesome plant health, stunning design and clearly a long running feasible pico, fantastic.
Graeme Edwards:
A unique compesition, typical of your style, healthy plants and clearly well maintained, very well done.
Congratulations James Marshall for "Fell's Crag"!
And congrats to the rest of the top five; Sam, Stu, Tony and Jason for some fantastic scapes. After seeing all of the entries I was certainly glad not to be judging. I can't imagine, with the quality of entries, it was an easy task! Again, thank you to everyone for entering, and thank you to George, Dan and Graeme for judging the contest.We'll sort out the prizes in the next few days, so don't worry
Thanks again everyone 🙂
Steve.
