# Finally... UK aquascaping competiion.



## Piece-of-fish (13 Apr 2015)

Get your scissors out guys. Some questionable criteria but overall pretty exciting. 
http://www.ukasc.co.uk/


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## EnderUK (13 Apr 2015)

Might have a crack though my scape is looking a little ragged at the minute, will see what it's like in a couple of months


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## Andy Thurston (13 Apr 2015)

sounds good. not sure about restricting the number of entries or the entrance fee though.


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## Piece-of-fish (13 Apr 2015)

I bet you can ignore the number of entrants restriction


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## Andy Thurston (13 Apr 2015)

I think they've done that to make the judging format easier. perhaps they haven't got room on their computers to handle more entries


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## EnderUK (13 Apr 2015)

Darrel should enter one of his tanks, I'm sure he'll have one with UK only plants that has been growing stable for years 

I really don't know how you can do a UK based tank maybe this one?


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## Andy Thurston (13 Apr 2015)

lol where's the trolley


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## Nelson (13 Apr 2015)

EnderUK said:


> Darrel should enter one of his tanks, I'm sure he'll have one with UK only plants that has been growing stable for years
> 
> I really don't know how you can do a UK based tank maybe this one?


I remember that.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/without-foundation-james-maslin.5913/page-3


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## Andy D (13 Apr 2015)

I would have thought Alastair would have brought this up. 

UKAPS seems to be a bit of a ghost town for older members these days. Not sure why...


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## Gill (13 Apr 2015)

I would happily enter this and recreate my Snowdonia Scape again. But as the min is 50L will not enter.


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## Andy Thurston (13 Apr 2015)

Andy D said:


> UKAPS seems to be a bit of a ghost town for older members these days. Not sure why...


 it would appear that their all becoming too busy with their aquatic careers to post these days. such a shame really


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## Piece-of-fish (13 Apr 2015)

Big clown said:


> it would appear that their all becoming too busy with their aquatic careers to post these days. such a shame really


Its a rotating hobby. People get tired of wc in 2-3 years and dissapear.


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## Rahms (13 Apr 2015)

will be good to see!  I think george farmer did a UK-only scape?  he posted full tank shots already unfortunately, would have been an easy placing for him


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## Alastair (13 Apr 2015)

Andy D said:


> I would have thought Alastair would have brought this up.
> 
> UKAPS seems to be a bit of a ghost town for older members these days. Not sure why...


Hi Andy 

Sorry for my lack of presence on Ukaps as of late, I've had a couple of health issues ( sorted now hopefully) which took precedence and bee getting bits ready in the background for the next big tank which starts a week on Saturday. 

I have brought this up don't worry, hopefully get it sorted asap. 
Hope your well mate


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## Andy D (14 Apr 2015)

Alastair said:


> Sorry for my lack of presence on Ukaps as of late, I've had a couple of health issues ( sorted now hopefully) which took precedence



That's understandable mate and I hope you are on the mend! It just seems that a thriving community has gone very quiet over the last few months which is a real shame. I just hope it's one of the lulls that forums inevitably seem to go through. I think UKAPS is a superb forum and I would really hate to see it dwindle into non-existence - especially as the aquascaping scene in the UK (in my mind at least) seems to be picking up pace (as perhaps increasing FB groups and this competition would suggest ).

Maybe it's just me?  Maybe everyone else has a life! 



Alastair said:


> Bee getting bits ready in the background for the next big tank which starts a week on Saturday.



Looking forward to this one!



Alastair said:


> I have brought this up don't worry, hopefully get it sorted asap.



I hope it goes well! Nice to see you involved in it. How long has this been in planning? The reason I ask is that at the Shrimp tour that Chris did your name did come up and there was a little wink, wink, nudge, nudge between Chris and Patrick (I think that's who it was) so I suspect this is what they were alluding too?


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## Iain Sutherland (14 Apr 2015)

great to see this come to fruition al, now just to decide if i have time to break down the 120 and grow a new one in before august.....

either way ill be in Telford for the prize giving pal.

edit.. maybe not my tank is 300ltr and no doubt all spots will be filled by august.  Heyho, no comps this year for me


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## dw1305 (14 Apr 2015)

Hi all,
George Farmer's award winning Stickleback tank from 2009 is here <"Great British Biotope">. 





EnderUK said:


> Darrel should enter one of his tanks, I'm sure he'll have one with UK only plants that has been growing stable for years


 I haven't. 

I've got some that have been set up a long time, but theonly planting criteria is "_any plant that survives in them" _and the only category they could be entered for would be "benign neglect jungle".

cheers Darrel


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## Piece-of-fish (14 Apr 2015)

Such exciting news. Surprised not to see more interest on the topic


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## Mark Green (14 Apr 2015)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Such exciting news. Surprised not to see more interest on the topic


 
Cant say many peple will be sending them 10 pounds to enter. Can see this turning into a bit of a damp squid....

And ive never heard of this company until this post.


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## Piece-of-fish (14 Apr 2015)

Why would you need to know the company? They are one of the biggest wholesalers in the trade so we should not know them. To organise something like this takes a lot of work and lets admit the prizes are very good. First year will be trial and error but it should improve in the future. One thing for sure it will greatly improve the level of UK scaping which currently is extremey low  . There are 3-4 people in the country only! If you look at hungary history of competition the standard skyrocketed over 3-4 years.
So no mater who and how tries to do it gets big thumbs up


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## Rahms (14 Apr 2015)

Mark Green said:


> Cant say many peple will be sending them 10 pounds to enter. Can see this turning into a bit of a damp squid...



I presume thats the point.  Its a tiny amount (unlikely to deter anyone who actually wants to join) but it prevents people submitting phone pics of their childrens fishbowls


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## Mark Green (14 Apr 2015)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Why would you need to know the company? They are one of the biggest wholesalers in the trade so we should not know them. To organise something like this takes a lot of work and lets admit the prizes are very good. First year will be trial and error but it should improve in the future. One thing for sure it will greatly improve the level of UK scaping which currently is extremey low  . There are 3-4 people in the country only! If you look at hungary history of competition the standard skyrocketed over 3-4 years.
> So no mater who and how tries to do it gets big thumbs up



I don't need to know the company, i was just saying that i have not heard of them before this post.

Your right that it takes time to organsie these things, however im surprised that some one like PFK did not give this a go, as their in a perfect position to do  so. Good luck to them in starting this

If your going to get sponsors for an event like this, would it not be a good idea that they actually sponsor some of their products. As it looks like the money for entry is being used for the prizes.

Just my opinion.....

Anyway i hope it works out well for them, if it can improve the hobby in the UK thats a great thing..


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## Piece-of-fish (14 Apr 2015)

10£ fee is a good idea to stop goldfish bowl entries as someone said. On the other hand number of entries could be unlimited and goldfish gang sponsoring and promoting the comp  Dont think its introduced to pay for prizes as to get 250 entries is very optimistic. Plus they have to work hard at promotion. PFK would have little interest apart from getting some content. Not worth such a hassle whereas for the wholesaler its a direct interest pushing brands they distribute.


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## Emma-jnk (16 Apr 2015)

Hi All, I am Emma one of the people @ J&K, working on the competition. Just thought I'd jump in and help clarify some points raised.
J&K Aquatics are one of the biggest wholesalers in the UK. You probably won't have heard of us because we deal with retail stores not the general public. We do have a facebook page if you want to know a little more about us & see a few pictures of our new warehouse.
We have been working with Alastair and all of the sponsors for over a year to organise the competition. The purpose of it is to help shine a light on aquascaping in the UK& RoI. We feel that Aquascaping needs a real boost in UK & RoI and are hoping that this competition will give retailers and hobbyists alike something to help further promote the hobby and show off the skills we have here.
Piece-of-fish is right in what he is saying. The £10 limit is to ensure that those entering are aquascaping hobbyists, we have to be realistic about how we start this competition and we don’t have the capacity to monitor hundreds of entries. Therefore the cap on numbers and small entry fee is to ensure we only get legitimate entries from real hobbyists.
Again, Piece-of-fish is correct in what he is saying there will be hiccups in the first year and we are trying to take on board the suggestions that have been raised.  The UK theme is optional and we would never dream to specify use UK only plants. You could be as loose in interpreting it as a colour scheme. We have also have decided to allow entries from 0 up to 300L.
Regarding the comments about the sponsors. If you head over to the UKASC website at www.ukasc.co.uk you can see that the prizes consist not only of cash but a range of equipment from the sponsors. All of the materials for the live “scape off” at Aqua 2015 will be provided by our sponsors and entrants hotels will also be paid for. Please note Aqua Telford is a trade only event, so we are only to able to invite the chosen scapers to attend, with us.
We hope that you all can get behind this and help us to develop the competition into something that really puts UK aquascaping on the map in years to come. We are always open to discussion and really look forward to the competition.


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## Andy Thurston (16 Apr 2015)

lets hope I can get my rescape sorted in time


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## George Farmer (21 Apr 2015)

Looking forward to it. So who's entering?


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## Piece-of-fish (22 Apr 2015)

If you let me comment about the limit on both tank size and limit on entries. The limit on top size in not quite necessary as it is very unlikely that you would get flooded with such size entries and on the other side if you ge any it is deserved to be seen. Planted aquariums of this size are very rare. 
The number of entries limit is shooting yourself in the foot a bit as competition has been announced only 4 months to the deadline and it takes min 3-4 months to do an aquascape from scratch. Again its unlikely that the limit would be achieved but it could scare few people of. The ones who want to start an aquascape for this competition now and worry about not getting a chance to submit it later. 
Perhaps you can make your life easier by not limiting the entries but reducing the ammount of aquariums which get rated from 1-50 or 1-100 for example. 
Just a few ideas


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## mattb180 (22 Apr 2015)

I am considering entering, worth testing your scape against the best for a tenner!

The only issue I have is that I am a useless photographer!


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## Emma-jnk (22 Apr 2015)

Thanks piece-of-fish, we are taking on board all comments - this year will very much be a learning curve!
The limit on size was deemed  necessary, to simplify judging criteria. How can you compare a nano and a 300L + aquarium?  However upto 300l is still quite a range, I don't envy our judges!!
The limit on entrants again came about as should scape need to be viewed - it was what we could realistically cover in the timescale. Like you said, highly unlikely we will have that many entrants in our 1st year but hopefully not scaring off too many.
We are a bit behind schedule launching the event officially this year...the scape doesn't have to be new, just in existence now, and be able to be viewed, if necessary.
As for all those who are unable to enter this year due to our restrictions - please feel free to share your photos on the event's Facebook page (UK aquatic scaping competition). We'd love to see & hear what we've missed out on.


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## Iain Sutherland (23 Apr 2015)

ill be entering the other halves 60 George, to show support as much as anything, i think its long over due and no small task to organize no doubt.
Had i known a bit earlier the 120 might have got a rescape but guess that can wait for next year.


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## tim (23 Apr 2015)

UK comp is a good thing, I hope it goes well and look forward to many more  I may enter one of my temporary tanks if I can knock it into shape in time.


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## luckyjim (23 Apr 2015)

I would consider entering if my UK native tank turns out well (big if!). However, I don't agree with the whole policy of banning any publication of pictures of the tank before entering. I am not sure what the purpose is, and I think it discourages experienced aquarists from sharing their techniques and ways of working - which is one of the things I like about this site.

I think it is great that you're doing a UK competition though.


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## Emma-jnk (23 Apr 2015)

Hi luckyjim, while I and others involved totally understand your view on the prior publication of pics / techniques that it does kind of go against the principles of all the hobby's sites, we are just trying to make the competition as simple and fair as possible. If one of our judges had previously seen other info and images published or online, we could not guarantee their opinion would not have been influenced. They could abstain from voting on a particular entry I guess, but then we would have to average out points awarded, not have the same full panel judge each entry individually.
Hope you do get to enter your tank.....


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## Stu Worrall (23 Apr 2015)

Emma-jnk said:


> Hi luckyjim, while I and others involved totally understand your view on the prior publication of pics / techniques that it does kind of go against the principles of all the hobby's sites, we are just trying to make the competition as simple and fair as possible. If one of our judges had previously seen other info and images published or online, we could not guarantee their opinion would not have been influenced. They could abstain from voting on a particular entry I guess, but then we would have to average out points awarded, not have the same full panel judge each entry individually.
> Hope you do get to enter your tank.....


Great that there's a UK comp but I wont be entering due to this.  Keeping a new scape under wraps for several months just stifles the hobby in my opinion.  Fair enough to not show the final image of the tank so it can be used for J&K's promotion but to not show any setup and progress with others is unecessary.  With your example above about the judges maybe seeing the tank before allocating points what happens at the live scape in Aqua Telford?  Will the judges there be put in an isolation room for the whole show so they cant see who scaped the tanks?

It just doesnt make sense to me and thats why you have several judges you can trust who will be impartial and just look at the quality of the final scape, independant of whose built it.


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## Emma-jnk (23 Apr 2015)

Telford is a ballot - of the shows visitors, not judged by panel. I will seek clarification with judges about prior publications...


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## Stu Worrall (23 Apr 2015)

Emma-jnk said:


> Telford is a ballot - of the shows visitors, not judged by panel. I will seek clarification with judges about prior publications...


Fair enough. I thought it was judged at Telford


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## Emma-jnk (29 Apr 2015)

Hi, just to clarify point about prior publication as wording is a bit misleading; in a magazine article / printed press - would be a no; in a forum / thread sharing processes - absolutely fine


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## Mark Livermore (29 Apr 2015)

That makes much more sense.


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## luckyjim (29 Apr 2015)

Cool! Depending on how mine goes I may enter!


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## Brian Murphy (30 Apr 2015)

Might enter if ready on time and there are spaces available


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## Alastair (30 May 2015)

Brian Murphy said:


> Might enter if ready on time and there are spaces available


Be good to see yours entered mate. I think there are a few people from your way who are entering I believe 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Iain Sutherland (30 May 2015)

out of curiosity, why does the tank need to be running?


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## Brian Murphy (30 May 2015)

Alastair said:


> Be good to see yours entered mate. I think there are a few people from your way who are entering I believe
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Will be leaving entering until last minute as im not sure what way the scape will go. I always complicate things and should have just simplified the scape. Alot going on for my first proper scape lol
Did you come over to n.i. in april? I never heard from you


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## GreenNeedle (31 May 2015)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Why would you need to know the company? They are one of the biggest wholesalers in the trade so we should not know them. To organise something like this takes a lot of work and lets admit the prizes are very good. First year will be trial and error but it should improve in the future. *One thing for sure it will greatly improve the level of UK scaping which currently is extremey low  . There are 3-4 people in the country only*! If you look at hungary history of competition the standard skyrocketed over 3-4 years.
> So no mater who and how tries to do it gets big thumbs up



So there will only be 3 or 4 entering then??  I don't agree with this sentiment.  There are 3-4 in this country that do this particular type of competition scape maybe?  I think people need to stop this UK catch up argument.  The internet has made things much more global.  This forum is not UK only it is a world forum.  No one needs to catch up anymore, its not a national team event.


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## Emma-jnk (31 May 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> out of curiosity, why does the tank need to be running?


Scape has to be current - purely for reason that  entry can be checked and verified if any queries; photo quality / creator etc.


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## Gill (5 Jun 2015)

Entering, Have started the tank over the last few days. And very pleased with initial planting. 
Using a new filtration technique I have been meaning to try out for a while now. So far results are very pleasing indeed. 
Using the fish as the theme.


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## Andy Thurston (5 Jun 2015)

Gill said:


> I would happily enter this and recreate my Snowdonia Scape again. But as the min is 50L will not enter.


didn't realise there was a minimum tank size, I can only find a maximum of 300l on the website


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## Gill (5 Jun 2015)

Big clown said:


> didn't realise there was a minimum tank size, I can only find a maximum of 300l on the website



Rules have been redone to allow pico scapes aswell now. mine is not a pico for the 1st time in a few years. So enjoying doing a larger tank.
Not to say i still dont have many pico tanks going. and a few wabi bowls.


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## Emma-jnk (5 Jun 2015)

No lower limit, max is 300l


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## Piece-of-fish (8 Jun 2015)

SuperColey1 said:


> So there will only be 3 or 4 entering then??  I don't agree with this sentiment.  There are 3-4 in this country that do this particular type of competition scape maybe?  I think people need to stop this UK catch up argument.  The internet has made things much more global.  This forum is not UK only it is a world forum.  No one needs to catch up anymore, its not a national team event.


Agreeing or not agreeing does not change the situation unfortunatelly and this is sad truth. 3-4 active with skills to compete in IAPLC and get top 100. Might sound harsh but this is the reality.


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