Impact of Japanese Earthquake on Aquarium Suppliers

ADA Gallery in Niigata

As you've probably heard, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11th, 2011. Since then, a group of brave workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been battling explosions and radiation leaks in an attempt to bring the crippled plant under control.

Although it may seem a world away from most of us, these events may have a very real impact on our aquascaping hobby. Many companies that make aquarium supplies are based in Japan, with Aqua Design Amano and Hikari probably being the most well known. ADA is headquartered in Niigata (about 100 miles from the worst devastation in Sendai) while most of Hikari's facilities are in southern Japan.

Everyone at ADA headquarters, which is closer to the affected area than Hikari, is alright. The gallery there sustained little damage if any, with all tanks surviving the earthquake. Apparently, ADA stands and tanks are designed to withstand earthquakes. However, as you can see in the map above, the ADA gallery and headquarters (marked A) isn't all that far from the Fukushima nuclear plant that's been leaking radiation for the last two weeks. Since ADA's substrate product, Aqua Soil, is collected nearby, there has been some concern over radiation levels in the product. ADA was quick to release a statement stating that radiation levels are being monitored:

Our national and local government is monitoring the radiation level every hour, and we do not see any abnormal value of radiation reported from the area of collection. In addition to that, we are not collecting these soils every day, and we now have been processing the soils collected before the earthquake. The raw materials of our AQUA SOIL series are collected from a layer of earth in the ground, and we do not see any concern of having soils contaminated with radiation. Therefore, there is no effect of radiation in all AQUA SOIL SERIES and it remains as ideal substrate for aquarium use.

Even if radiation isn't an issue, the general destruction of highways and ports and other infrastructure, along with the power outages could delay some shipments of ADA products to the US. If you were planning on making any necessary ADA purchases in the near future, and the products are in stock, I'd go ahead and make them now just in case. As a show of support for ADA and the Japanese people, ADG Shop is offering a special deal on Aqua Soil with 10% of proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross. Keep in mind though that this is a pre-order and that the Aqua Soil is not in stock right now, so if you are in a rush to set up a tank, you may want to contact the folks at ADG to see when they expect their next shipment. The ADA Gallery in Niigata has also opened up their gallery seven days a week until further notice to help provide a relaxing escape from the destruction.

The International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest (IAPLC) run by ADA has not been impacted or delayed though, so continue working on your submissions!

Meanwhile, Hikari has most facilities in southern Japan, but will probably also be impacted by damaged infrastructure and power shortages. There hasn't been a lot of mention about the quake on the Hikari USA website, but their Facebook and Twitter feeds have posted a video of a koi farm during the earthquake and offered their condolences to those impacted. Again, if you depend on Hikari products (say a special fish food for example) you may want to get it now just in case there are any interruptions in availability.



One thing you probably don't need to do and shouldn't do is go on a panicked buying spree. ADA and Hikari products are going to continue to be available, there just might be some short delays. I'll update this post if I hear anything else back on product availability or delays from Japan.

Aqua Design Amano Prices Increased

Bad news and good news for Aquarium Design Amano (ADA) fans. First, the bad: as of November 1st, 2010, the prices of Aqua Design Amano products in the US have increased due to increases in raw material prices and exchange rates. Yes, some of the best aquarium equipment available here in the US to aquascapers has become even more dear. No word yet on exactly how much of a price increase it was.

Now the good news: The Aquarium Design Group (ADG) store is delaying the price increases until January 2011. That means that even though the prices on ADA items has increased, you'll continue to pay the old prices at ADG until January, and ADG's next container shipment of ADA goodies is set to arrive December 7th. This means most out of stock items will be back in stock in time for the holidays.

Just in case you aren't exactly sure what ADA offers, they'll also be receiving copies of the new "book of ADA" catalog, which will be available for free to all ADA customers. All you need to do is pay postage! Here's a quick description from the ADA website:

Not only Nature Aquarium Goods but also Do!aqua products and Wabi-kusa are introduced. It presents the full lineups of ADA products. This informative book shows ADA products, beautiful aquascapes, layout making, technical know-how of maintaining living organism and equipments, distributors and supporters' list, and more. It is recommended for all aquatic plants hobbyists from advanced level to beginners!

This sounds like an amazing resource, even if you aren't sure you want any ADA products! I'll be sure to try to get my hands on one, and don't forget to place your orders at ADG before January 1st to get the lower prices.

ADA 2007 Aquascaping Contest: Top 10 Rankings

Finally got some time to throw these together with a little commentary; these are the top 10 aquascapes from the 2007 Aqua Design Amano Aquascaping Contest. The contest, held yearly and open to anyone, is the most significant award in the hobby and garners international recognition. The entries are judged by Takashi Amano himself and other renowned judges. There are some fairly original and interesting ideas in some of these and they are great inspiration!

World Ranking 1

This is a classic Nature Aquarium style tank and the contrast between the heavily planted left side and the open right side create a tranquil border scene complete with sandy foreground. The use of rock and driftwood help to add structure to the aquascape.

World Ranking 2

A lovely hillside scene with rocky outcroppings and schools of tiny colorful fish create an idyllic scene in this iwagumi inspired layout.

World Ranking 3

The carefully placed petrified wood in the foreground of this beautiful aquascape combined with the lush, overflowing green vegetation create the atmosphere of overgrown ruins deep in a jungle. The nearly terraced midground creates a beautiful "staircase" effect up to the dip in the plants where a school of fish hover like a flock of tropical birds. This is my personal favorite of the top 10.

World Ranking 4

Diagonal layers of ferns on driftwood create a stunning effect coupled with the contrast of the orange-tipped plant on the right side of the tank. The grassy, pastoral foreground complete with a school of fish completes the scene.

World Ranking 5

This aquascape looks like a lush mountain, with the two background groups of plants overlapping, creating a valley-like feeling. I love the contrast in colors and textures in this one.

World Ranking 6

An "island" aquascape, the driftwood adds a lot of interest and I especially like the hint of red peeking over the midground plants. The white sand foreground must be a pain to keep clean though!

World Ranking 7

This is a particularly interesting aquascape. I'm not quite sure how the designer created the illusion of a waterfall, but it could have been done with sand or air bubbles. Either way, the visual interest of this aquascape is amazing. It's such a beautiful tropical scene, with lush plants and mosses surrounding a clearing filled with grasses. The slope of the entire aquascape also adds such depth to the scene that it makes it seem much bigger than it actually is.

World Ranking 8

The most striking feature of this aquascape is the vertical rock formations. They are perfectly placed and dotted with all sorts of plants, creating an overgrown, natural look.

World Ranking 9

The black background of this aquascape helps to bring out the brilliant green colors of the plants, and the two red plants, on either side of the "valley" provide contrast.

World Ranking 10

Filipe Oliveira's entry, this is such a unique and wonderful aquascape. The moss "tree" and the pastoral setting beneath are fundamentally relaxing and pleasing to look at. It's also the only entry in the top 10 rankings from outside Asia.

Top 27 2007 ADA Contest Aquariums

Here they are finally! The top 27 aquariums from the 2007 ADA Aquascaping contest are listed along with comments from the judges over at Practical Fishkeeping's blog. The picture above is the winner of the contest, but some of the others are extremely interesting as well. Go have a look!

ADA Awards Ceremony and Party 2007

On September 16th, the Tokyo was home to the equivalent of the Oscars for the aquascaping community. The awards for the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest 2007 winners were awarded and slides of the winning aquascapes were displayed. Although there aren't any clear pictures of the aquascapes yet, there are photos of the slide show and event over at Creative Aquascape Union. Check them out and I'll post the winning aquascapes when better photos pop up!

ADA Nature Aquarium Gallery in Japan

Here's a link I stumbled across and saved to a photo gallery of the ADA Nature Aquarium Gallery in Japan. This is where all of Amano's greatest works and works in progress are on display, as well as acting as a showroom for his ADA aquarium equipment.

There are some extremely beautiful aquariums, but just the sweeping pictures of all the aquariums in one room is pretty enough. There are even a few salt water aquariums as well. If you are ever in Japan, give this gallery a visit, I hear it is worth the trip! For more information on ADA and the gallery, head over to ADA Japan.

Yikes! Look how full that one is!