Aquashella 2026 - Edison, NJ

[Capraquaria 187]

I’ll see any scape crunchers there! Very excited to experience my first aquashella!

I will be there. Booked for the Shizuku class on Sunday, too. So looking forward to it!

 

[Noahspapa 5]

Agreed. My first aquarium hobby event was a weekend in Toronto which is roughly a 2 hour drive for me. It was an ADA event and I did the shizuku pot piece there. It was excellent! And I know what I brought home was worth far more than the small cost of the event.

 

[BranchScape 40]

Agreed. My first aquarium hobby event was a weekend in Toronto which is roughly a 2 hour drive for me. It was an ADA event and I did the shizuku pot piece there. It was excellent! And I know what I brought home was worth far more than the small cost of the event.

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We did the same plants but different stone I did Jaguar.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

I love the jagure stone. Works pretty well with Hakkai, too. I used a little in my 150.

 

[BranchScape 40]

I love the jagure stone. Works pretty well with Hakkai, too. I used a little in my 150.

Same I just wish I could get it easier and it wasn't $$$$. I need to go hunt for some cool local rock I can commercialize.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Heading off to the airport! See you soon, New Jersey!

 

[Capraquaria 187]

In line at Aquashella, with @Noahspapa !

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Ok, first day recap. While the contest aquascapers were busy scaping, @Noahspapa and I were hanging out watching Daichi Araki scape a lovely Nature style aquarium in an ADA 90P, with a South American theme. Typical ADA powersand/Amazonia subtrate with additives, but using the new ADA Madeira sand for the foreground. Hardscape was 'driftwood' with ADA Yamaya stone (available here in the US through Aqua Forest Aquarium in SF).

Ryan Noel, who I met at breakfast in the hotel, doing initial introductions


and Daichi Araki about to introduce the history of ADA and Takashi Amano.



His aquascape started with the Maderia sand, and the hardscape, before the subtrate was added in the back. Always fun to watch others scape, and how we all do things a little differently. I tend to do my soil before the sand. Hardscape was completed, and moss tied before the lunch break.



Had a front row seat before lunch. Was a couple of rows back with a less straight on view for the planting, but this was the tank once planted. Bolbitis, various Echinodorus, a rare Nymphaea species that apparently stays very low with high light, Anubias Nana and Nana Petite, and Microsorum Petite.




After this session, I wandered a bit to look at the scaping contest tanks, and I'll post a few pics next, and was introduced to Nick Kinser, the manager of Capital Exotic Fish that's located in DC, and discovered how small the world is, as he went to High School in Santa Cruz, CA. I lived in Santa Cruz until my move out to Virginia a few years ago. Definitely need to make a trip out to Capital, as it sounds like they are probably my best local hardscape in-person resource.

Had to restrain myself on purchases, as I need to get the Shizuku on the plane tomorrow, but I am still currently working on a game of suitcase Tetris for my mini haul. $8 a Tropica TC cup could not be passed up, with the free shirt and towel thrown in!

 

[Capraquaria 187]

It was a zoo after lunch, but I did grab a few pics of some of the contest aquascapes in progress.

I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with our fellow Scape Cruncher, Jeff Miotke, earlier in the day, and this is his tank as some finishing details were being added. I really love this wood structure, but my tanks with driftwood so far all arch down, including a manten stone and manzanita tank I threw in a dark start before I left, so I am quite partial to that style at the moment.



Hiep Hong, TX @hiepthehuman


Asa Bennett, NC @asascapes

Shelby Kaye Brown, FL @shelbykayescapes



Eduard Kim, PA @kim_eduard_art


These were all 'in progress' pics. I will try and walk around early in the morning tomorrow before the crowds show up and catch a few more I couldn't get close too this afternoon. More tomorrow...

 

[BenB 9]

Thanks for all the pics! It looks great!

 

[Capraquaria 187]

I have video of the top 3 from the awards with judge's commentary I can edit down when I get home. In the meantime, Hiep Hong is the Grand Champion winner, with what I told him was the best urban culture iwagumi I have seen!


Sorry, got a photo of Hiep after, but it washed out the tank

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Also, congratulations to @Jeff Miotke and Dan Zmuda for winning best use of hardscape!



**Edited to add this photo of Jeff and Dan receiving their award from Juris.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Shizuku class was fun! Highly recommend it for anyone that is interested at a future Aquashella.



Araki-san was even gracious enough to pack mine in its box before I left for the airport. Unfortunately, Jersey TSA insisted I had to lay it on its side for the xray process, and then pulled it out and apart for inspection. The pot is fine though, but it will be in need of a rescape after I get home. I knew I should have taken a photo

Something I hope can be done at future Aquashellas, was the impromptu Q&A opportunity that all of the contest aquascapers had this morning with Araki-san. Ryan Noel suggested that @Noahspapa and I should join them, and it was super fun listening to some of the Amano anecdotes.



Also gave me the opportunity after that was done to take some better photos of Daichi Araki's tank from yesterday. It was available for auction, so I will be curious to see who went home with it!



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Great conference, amazing community, tons of talent under one roof, and I am looking forward to the next one!

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Despite literally going through a rock tumbler after TSA systematically tipped it on its side, and then dug around and dismantled it, I think I have retrieved enough 'healthy' plants to get this rolling again. One rock was so buried in the soil, I wasn't sure it was even there! But despite getting in at 1 AM, I was up at 5 pulling it apart and putting it back together.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

As for the aquascaping contest, it was all about the Iwagumi at New Jersey for the top 3.

Third Place - Eduard Kim & Ludmila Kim - Philadelphia, PA @kim_eduard_art



2nd Place - Jacob Smiley - Houston, TX - @jacobsmiley.22



and of course, Grand Champion - Hiep Hong, Houston, TX - @hiepthehuman




Meanwhile, if you are on instagram, I posted a short clip, including the 3rd, 2nd, and Champion scapers receiving their awards on stage.

 

[Noahspapa 5]

So glad I attended. Capraquaria has done an excellent job of photographing and documenting the event! A couple treasures to share:

• first was the “red azalea” wood I bought from the folks at Pet World. I bought two large pieces. I think I was the first customer of the day and asked them to ship it and the owner labeled it and ran it out to his van right away before I took a pic. I included a pic of some similar pieces.
• second, was the “new” ADA Pro Razor. The new unit has a spring loaded attachment method and comes with a small tool to install the blade. Very nice!
• third was the TC cups from tropical. If I remember correctly we got 12 cups, plus a nice tshirt and towel for on the order of $100. They were pushing the fact they’ll be selling TC direct soon.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

So glad I attended. Capraquaria has done an excellent job of photographing and documenting the event! A couple treasures to share:

• first was the “red azalea” wood I bought from the folks at Pet World. I bought two large pieces. I think I was the first customer of the day and asked them to ship it and the owner labeled it and ran it out to his van right away before I took a pic. I included a pic of some similar pieces.
• second, was the “new” ADA Pro Razor. The new unit has a spring loaded attachment method and comes with a small tool to install the blade. Very nice!
• third was the TC cups from tropical. If I remember correctly we got 12 cups, plus a nice tshirt and towel for on the order of $100. They were pushing the fact they’ll be selling TC direct soon.

I am so interested to see how you like the new ADA Pro Razor. I love the ADA blades, just not super fond of the screws on my older version.

Hope you made it out of Newark Ok. The delays got pretty bad later in the day. I finally got home several hours late, around 1 AM.

I agree, the folks at Pet World were great. I didn't make it by there until Sunday morning, but they still had some big stuff. Spencer may have been a bit of an enabler, and I might have accidentally procured some heftier pieces of ghostwood. I would love to visit their warehouse in person.


I now have the affliction of hoarding random pieces of hardscape before I have hatched a plan to even have a tank to put it in In my defense, finding any hardscape locally is all but impossible, so I seized the opportunity. It could always double as wall art! Looking forward to seeing that Red Azalea wood you purchased in a scape. It's really cool looking!

 

[JayP 435]

I am so interested to see how you like the new ADA Pro Razor. I love the ADA blades, just not super fond of the screws on my older version.

Hope you made it out of Newark Ok. The delays got pretty bad later in the day. I finally got home several hours late, around 1 AM.

I agree, the folks at Pet World were great. I didn't make it by there until Sunday morning, but they still had some big stuff. Spencer may have been a bit of an enabler, and I might have accidentally procured some heftier pieces of ghostwood. I would love to visit their warehouse in person.

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I now have the affliction of hoarding random pieces of hardscape before I have hatched a plan to even have a tank to put it in In my defense, finding any hardscape locally is all but impossible, so I seized the opportunity. It could always double as wall art! Looking forward to seeing that Red Azalea wood you purchased in a scape. It's really cool looking!

I had mentioned to @Noahspapa before he left for the show that Pet World was what I consider to be my LFS, even though I have several other stores closer to me. They not only have that great selection of hardscape, but also the best freshwater fish selection in the KC area. The owners are great.

Up until just the last week, they never had room in their current store (catering to all pets) to display all their hardscape, but they've made the decision to shift their business focus to fish and reptiles and moved all of that into a warehouse/store location so now we get to see all that hardscape they take to the shows. It's not big enough that I would plan a trip to Lawrence KS just to see it though, unless you're visiting the KC area for other things. I stopped by there last Wednesday to check it out and they're still moving and organizing.

 

[Jeff Miotke 11]

Was great to meet you! Wish we had more time to chat.

 

[Capraquaria 187]

Was great to meet you! Wish we had more time to chat.

You too! Hopefully we can chat more at an Aquashella next year. Congratulations on your Best Use of Hardscape award!