Taizi River, shallow riverbank area of Benxi City, Liaoning province, China
17th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2019
China. Wang Peng
Volume: 288 L
Dimensions: 120×60×40 cm
List of fishes: Atyoidae / Rhynchocypris lagowskii / Rhodeus ocellatus/Atyoidae .The fish were caught in the river.
List of plants: No aquatic plants were found in the shallow waters of the river banks I described, only some algae.
Description of decorations: All the materials I used were collected by the riverside and river water in the shallow waters of the Taizi River. They included stream stones, some sunken branches, leaves, small gravels and river sand.
Description of equipment: Filter equipment:
ATMAN-CF1200 External Filter ×2 / Pre-filter ×2
Degreasing Film Filter ×2
Lamps:
Netlea/Nitley LED 6500K 50W×3 /
Others: oxygen pumps×1 / Flow pump 15W ×1
Water parameters: Water is clear
Temperature: 20 ±1
PH: 8.7
GH: 9
TDS:135
Additional info: In my aquarium, all the materials I used were collected in the Prince River, including fish. Many stream stones of different sizes build the whole skeleton, and the river bank collects a lot of fine sand and small gravel to mix into the bottom sand of the fish tank. I used two larger external filters and two pre-filters for both physical filtration and nitrifying bacteria cultivation. Change water once every 3-4 days without touching the bottom bed, and add 1/3 slowly each time. I directly add domestic water, because the upstream of the river is the drinking water extract of our city, and the water parameters in the fish tank are very close to those of the Prince River, which is very good. I control the growth of algae by changing water and controlling light time. In daily maintenance, only changing water and cleaning the glass of fish tank, simple manual removal of some lush algae, I feel very relaxed. In the photos and videos, you can see that the fish are in excellent condition. They like the ecological environment I simulate very much, and I am very happy about it.
INFORMATION ABOUT BIOTOPE
Description of the area surrounding the biotope: Taizi River is one of the larger rivers in Liaoning Province and the largest river in Benxi, located in the eastern part of Liaoning Province. It is 413 kilometers long, with a watershed area of 13883 square kilometers, a flow of 106 cubic meters per second and a drop of 463 meters. It is the industrial and agricultural production base of Liaoning Province. Water consumption accounts for 70% of the total water consumption in the province. Due to the dual pressures of economic development and high population density, it has formed the most serious water shortage area in the province.
Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: The river bed is Sandy and muddy, and stream stones accumulate on the surface. A small amount of drifting wood has been found in the field investigation. In the shallow water area of the river bank, there are a large number of stream stones, a small amount of branches and dead leaves falling in the water. No aquatic plants were found along the river bank, but only a few were washed up by the water.
Description of the parameters of the habitat: The Taizi River is 168 km long in Benxi City, with a watershed area of 4364. The river course is smaller than that of the upper and lower reaches, with an average ratio drop of 0.125%. Located in the mid-latitude, it belongs to the mid-temperate zone and has a large temperature difference in four distinct seasons. The main climatic characteristics are: long cold period and ice on the river surface in winter. During the rainy season from June to September, the precipitation is concentrated in July to August, accounting for 70-80% of the annual precipitation. From May to June, the evaporation of river water was the largest. The time of illumination varies with season. It is shorter in winter and longer in summer. The difference of illumination time between the two seasons is about 3-5 hours. With seasonal changes: the PH value of river water is about 7.6-8.7, the TDS value is about 90-135, and the water temperature is about 6-26 C (except winter). The river water is relatively clear when observed in the diving area, and there are some floating substances in the water body. As the bottom sediment is touched during underwater photography, the nearby water becomes turbid. Biological communities in aquatic ecosystems include phytoplankton, epiphytic algae, phytoplankton, aquatic plants, emergent plants, fish and shrimp, etc.
List of fishes and invertebrates occurring in the nature biotope: Zacco platypus/Lampetra morii Berg/Phoxinus czekanowskii /Leuciscus waleckii/Pseudorasbora parva /Abbottina liaoningensis /Carassiusauratus/
List of plants found in the nature biotope: There are 22 dominant species of algae, including：Ulothrix zonata (Web. Et. Mohr) Kütz/Spirogyra communis/Spirogyra pulchrifigurata Jao/Navicula palcentula (Ehr.) Grun/Diatoma vulgare
Aquatic plant:Ceratophyllum demersum L/Pteris vittata L/Hydrilla verticillata/Myriophyllum verticillatum L/Potamogeton crispus L
Euphorbia:Phragmites communis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud/Scirpus validus Vahl
Threats to the ecology: Water is the source of life and one of the most important material resources for human survival and development. With childhood memories, it started the trip to Taizi River, which nurtured millions of people around our hometown.
When I arrived at my destination, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the sight before me. Because of the exploitation and utilization of nature by human beings, people’s living remnants were floating on the surface of the original clear river. Every now and then, parents took their children to play along the river. After playing, plastic waste and food waste were not taken away, and they were thrown directly by the river. I can’t help exclaiming that it is imperative to protect the ecology, which can’t be ignored. So I decided to take part in this competition and choose Mother River in my hometown. I hope that through this competition, with the help of my own interpretation of the original ecological landscape, through a little strength, I appeal to people to protect nature and protect the environment.
Sources of information:
https://wenku.baidu.com/view/
https://wenku.baidu.com/view/
https://wenku.baidu.com/view/
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%
http://cdmd.cnki.com.cn/
http://www.doc88.com/p-
https://wenku.baidu.com/view/