CIAC Online Competition Schedule

• Registration system opens:April 2

• Registration deadline:September 15

• Judges' scoring deadline:September 25

• Results announced:October 10

On-site Event Schedule:

• November 12International Masters Aquascaping Show
  On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament
  

• November 13CIAC 2026 Award Ceremony
  Award ceremony, judges' comments, winner interactions, etc.
  CIAC 2026 Celebration Dinner

Post-competition Activities:

• November 16–17Aquaculture Business Tour in Guangdong Region
  

CIAC Awards

Aquascape Group

Champion (1 winner)
Prize:
RMB 50,000 + trophy + certificate;
Round-trip airfare to Guangzhou + 3 nights hotel;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region;
On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

Runner-up (1 winner)
Prize:
RMB 15,000 + trophy + certificate;
Round-trip airfare to Guangzhou + 3 nights hotel;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region;
On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

Second Runner-up (1 winner)
Prize:
RMB 10,000 + trophy + certificate;
Round-trip airfare to Guangzhou + 3 nights hotel;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region;
On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

4th–13th place
Prize:
RMB 2,000 + certificate;
3 nights hotel in Guangzhou;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region;
On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

14th–30th place
Prize:
Certificate;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region;
On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

Best Beautiful Aquatic Plant Award
(This is an award for a single plant or a cluster of plants, e.g., one Cryptocoryne or a cluster of Rotala; full-tank photo not required)

First Prize (1 winner)
Prize:
RMB 2,000 + trophy + certificate;
Round-trip airfare to Guangzhou + 2 nights hotel;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region.

Second Prize (3 winners)
Prize:
RMB 1,000 + trophy + certificate;
2 nights hotel in Guangzhou;
Aquaculture business tour in Guangdong Region.

Third Prize (5 winners)
Prize:
RMB 500 + trophy + certificate;

Scoring Criteria

Note: Contestants must provide relevant proof that the submitted organisms are raised by themselves.

On-site Aquascaping Invitational Tournament

(12 tanks of 90×45×45 cm)

Champion (1 winner)
Prize: RMB 5,000 + trophy + certificate.

Runner-up (1 winner)
Prize: RMB 3,000 + trophy + certificate.

Second Runner-up (1 winner)
Prize: RMB 2,000 + trophy + certificate.

Scoring criteria: Aesthetics 40% + Ecology 30% + Technique 20% + Creativity 10%

New On-site Displays and Honorary Awards

90×45×45 cm Master Aquascape Show (5 sets)
Invited masters create aquascapes on-site.

Most Beautiful Aquatic Plant On-site Competition (6 tanks of 60×40×40 cm)

Chinese Cultural Heritage Art Award (3 winners)
Cultural expression, Eastern aesthetics, humanistic value.

Copyright and Rights

All prizes are pre-tax; individual income tax will be withheld and paid by the organizing committee.
The organizing committee has the right to use the works for promotion, exhibition, and publication; the author retains the right of authorship.
The organizing committee reserves the right of final interpretation of the competition.

CIAC Competition Rules

The competition is open to aquascaping enthusiasts worldwide. Works completed between 2025 and 2026 are eligible.
Submitted photos must be high-resolution front-view images of the final aquascape. Photos taken at an angle or showing only part of the tank are not acceptable. No image editing or modification is allowed. Image resolution must be at least 300 DPI.
For each category, submit one photo of the aquascape and one photo of the aquascape with the author (file size not exceeding 5 MB per photo).
Use high-resolution color photos in JPEG format, file size between 3 MB and 5 MB.
After registration, the organizer may compress or resize the submitted photos. Therefore, please keep the original high-resolution photos. The organizer will use the original files for printing winning works.
Copyright of the top 100 works belongs to CIPS and CFAA, the organizers of CIAC.
The final interpretation right of this event belongs to the official CIPS International Aquascaping Competition.