The valley of the rising sun - IIAC 2020 #23 Ismael Aguilar Soria / Spain

We are thrilled to announce the results of the 2013 AGA International Aquascaping Contest. There were 506 entries, a record number this year. There continues to be some truly inspirational and original ideas, and some interesting trends in aquascaping. Some categories were very difficult to judge because of the high number of quality entries.

Since 2021, IAPLC has been offering various prizes to top-ranking participants, such as the TOP100 medal for the winners and official stickers for all applicants. As of 2025, the current benefits for participants and prizes for winners are as follows.

Resilience is a project that was born thanks to a trip to Vivarium in the Netherlands. There I found a piece of wood that had multiple virtues: dynamism, uniqueness, natural beauty and a considerable size. I dedicated many hours to find similar pieces that could complement it. From that point on, the design had to strike the perfect balance between three elements: stone, wood and planting.

Curves is the name as well as the shape of material of my aquarium. The suitable aquatic plant shapes emphasized curves of rock also created the flow of underwater streamline too, and the flow is the main idea of this layout.  

In my work this year, I aim to offer viewers a different perspective that allows them to experience strength, power, and strong reflections between dark and light, near and far, big and small, without deviating from the beauty of nature. In addition to taking meticulous care of the vanishing point, I utilized all the remaining space in the aquarium. Regarding the plants, I have tried to take care of them so that they are in the best growing conditions. Lastly, I am grateful and thankful to the IIAC Steering Committee and the judges for recognizing my work.

I was inspired by my city, the city of Depok, which has lots of caves in its rivers, and lots of very lush trees. And finally I made a middle cave in the aquarium.

We first experience nature visually. This artwork stemmed from that visual inspiration, naturally prompting thoughts on how nature perceives us through its own visual lens. How will we appear to nature? We hope that we and nature will discover each other's beauty and cherish it.

Interesting angles using the wood for depth and hillside effect, nice path running through the hardscpe.

I tried to do a colorfull layout with underwater feeling, combining bold woods and a wide variety of plants, like the title says, the main idea is to look at big sunken woods aged by the time and covered with plants.

In this work I have tried to create something powerful but at the same time transmits serenity. A strong contrast that captivates the viewer. I hope I achieved it and that you enjoy that feeling. The inspiration is taken from a large tree with strong roots in a cloud forest environment.

The Rotala rotundifolia on the background is colorful and the transferring from green to red is very attractive. The construction of flaky sedimentary rock is also very well-balanced.

To accommodate more participants, this year's KIAC will open later than last year. The competition schedule has been finalized, and we are in the process of selecting judges.

First of all, I am happy to be able to continue participating in the IIAC contest.

I didn't draw an image, but created it with the feeling of surrounding myself with the theme of nature's generosity, acceptance, and tolerance. As the title suggests, the theme is "Nature that Hugs." Thank you very much