Atabapo, a stream near the settlement of Merey, Colombia
24th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2017
Ukraine. Alexey Bureiko
Volume: 330 L
Dimensions: 120x55x50 cm
List of fishes: Satanoperca daemon, Crenicichla notophtalmus
List of plants: N/A
Description of decorations: Driftwood and the roots of trees in appearance and fracture are similar to those found in the biotope. Boulders and parts of stones are similar to those found in the biotope. Sand is 0.1-1 mm.
Description of equipment: Eheim Classic 2217. Eheim Jager 200W. Led-spotlights 20 W, 2 pcs.
Water parameters: temperature is 28-30°C, acidity is 5.5-6. TDS is 30 ppm.
Description of the area surrounding the biotope: The Atabapo River is a tributary of the Orinoco River, the length of the river is 131 km. The depth of the river is up to 15 meters. The river gets water mainly from rain. Atabapo is a river with black water. The river is up to 1 km wide. On both sides of the river there are heaps of boulders, a dense tropical forest.
Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: Along the river there are bare rocks, large and small boulders. The substrate consists of white sand with a fraction of 0.1-1.5 mm and small fragments of rocks that come into contact with water. Also, due to the fact that the river passes through the jungle, there are a lot of driftwood on the bottom, it has a lot of rotting organic matter, as a result the water has a black color.
Description of the parameters of the habitat: The water is black. Its temperature ranges from 27 to 31°C. The water is very soft: 10-50 ppm. The hydrogen index is 3.5-5.5.
List of fishes: Apistogramma sp., Dicrossus sp., Hemiodus gracilis, Satanoperca daemon, Pherophyllum altum, Mesonauta sp., Crenicichla notophtalmus, Biotodoma wavrini, Paracheirodon axelrodi.
List of plants: Bulbostylis cf. schomburgkiana. Near the shore and submerged.
Sources of information: http://cefishessentials.com/blog/rio-atabapo-chris-englezou/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhp8vY_Y3p4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DxqKzWfFfE
Comments of the members of the jury of Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2017
From the photo the aquarium looks a bit small for the fish, but in the video we can see that there is enough room and sand for sifting. I would reduce part of organic matter for long term stability, but if it is just for photo, then it is ok.