Key Dates
Below you’ll find the full schedule for EAPLC 2026 — from the opening of submissions to the final announcement of results. Please mark your calendar and make sure to meet all deadlines.
- Application Period Opens: June 1, 2026
- Application Deadline: July 31, 2026
- Judging Phase Begins: August 1, 2026
- Judging Phase Ends: September 30, 2026
- Announcement of Results: October 24, 2026
- Trophy Shipping: Shortly after the Awarding Ceremony
- Awarding Ceremony: will take place on March 6, 2027 during the Scapers Night at The Art of the Planted Aquarium (TAOTPA) 2027 Event.
- Registration for TAOTPA and Scapers Night: October 31, 2026 through the Liquid Nature Online Shop.
Aquarium Categories
In 2026, we keep the streamlined categories from the past year. However, after a careful consideration, we are sorry to announce that the Wabikusa und Paludarium categories have been discontinued.
- Nano – 0 to 30 Liters
- Small – 31 to 60 Liters
- Medium – 61 to 100 Liters
- Large – 101 to 200 Liters
- X-Large – 201 to 300 Liters
- 2X-Large – 301+ Liters
Rules – EAPLC 2026
To ensure a fair and inspiring contest for all participants, please read the following rules carefully before submitting your layout.
1. Eligibility
- The contest is open to all aquascapers residing in Europe.
- Participation is free of charge.
- Each participant may submit one layout per category.
- In case of multiple entries in the same category, only the last submitted entry will be considered valid.
2. Entry Requirements
- Submitted layouts must be created by the participant.
- The layout can be submitted to other contests.
- The aquarium must be a planted tank, including live aquatic plants.
- Online submission requires using a Google Form.
3. Photo Submission
- Each participant must submit one full-frontal layout photo, which will be used for judging.
- Photo editing is only permitted for basic color correction and cropping/straightening.
- Any composite, overly edited, or AI-generated images will result in disqualification.
- Submitted images must:
- Be in the highest resolution possible
- Have a minimum resolution of 1920×1080 pixels
- Be under 25MB
- Be in JPG, JPEG, PNG file format
- The aquarium must be fully filled with water, or the image must be cropped down to the water line.
- No watermarks, logos, or digitally added elements are allowed.
4. Judging Criteria
- Entries will be judged based on:
- Composition & Layout
- Plant Health & Maintenance
- Creativity & Originality
- Photographic Presentation
- A panel of 10 experienced aquascaping judges from around the world will evaluate the entries.
- Read more about Juding Criteria
5. Rights & Publication
- By entering the contest, participants grant the organizer and contest sponsors a non-exclusive, free-of-cost right to:
- Publish submitted works online, in print, and on social media
- Include entries in future EAPLC promotional materials
- Feature entries in hobbyist magazines
- The organizer reserves the right to verify participant identity and disqualify any entries that do not comply with contest rules.
6. IAPLC Compliance
- The International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest (IAPLC) requires that submitted works must not have been published prior to their own deadline.
- EAPLC is officially recognized as an ADA-Authorized Local Contest.
- This means participants are officially allowed to submit the same layout to both EAPLC and IAPLC in the same year, as long as both contests’ respective rules and deadlines are followed.
- For more information, please refer to the official IAPLC guidelines: http://en.iaplc.com/about/application.html