Lake Malawi, Rocky Paradise

The 23rd place in the qualifying stage of the Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2014

 Bulgaria. Nickolay Nikolov

Volume: 400 L
List of fishes: Tropheops sp. Chilumba, Pseudotropheus demasoni, Pseudotropheus socolofi albino, Metriaclima sp. zebra chilumba Maison Reef, Metriaclima sp. msobo Magunga, Aulonocara sp. fire fish, Labidochromis sp. Hongi
Biotope description: The aquarium was set up based on Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa, or Lago Niassa in Mozambique) is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The third largest and second deepest lake in Africa, it is also the ninth largest in the world. It is home to more species of fish than any other lake, including about 1000 species of cichlids. The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, and in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in the Lake Malawi National Park. Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake; permanent stratification and the oxic-anoxic boundary are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients. The water in Lake Malawi or Nyasa is typically slightly alkaline with a pH ranging from 7.7 to 8.6, a carbonate hardness of 107 to 142 mg/l, and a conductivity of 210 to 285 µS/cm. Given its tropical latitude, the water of this lake is generally warm, having a surface temperature that ranges from 24 to 29 degrees Celsius (75 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit), with a deep water temperature of about 22°C (72°F), year round.