Mangrove shallow sea in Techeng Island, Zhanjiang, China

_st place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2022

Volume of aquarium: 320L

Dimensions of aquarium: 100x80x40cm

List of fishes: Ambassis
Apogon aureus
Omobranchus elegans
Parioglossus Philippinus
Monodactylus argenteus
Holothuria atra
Corythoichthys haematopterus
Astropecten polyacanthus
Clibanarius humilis
Clibanarius arethusa
Clibanarius virescens

List of plants: Bruguiera gymnorhiza
Rhizophora stylosa
Caulerpa lentillifera
Caulerpa taxifolia
Scagassum
Aegiceras corniculatum (Linn.) Blanco
Hypneaceae
eyssonnelia squamaria

Description of Decorations and Substrate: Fine white sand conforms to the native environment of Zhanjiang beach. Living stones and volcanic rocks are the main components of Zhanjiang shallow sea, because Techeng Island in Zhanjiang is a volcanic island, and there are many volcanic rocks on the coast and beach. I used natural living stones and coral reef stones, the small organisms and algae and flora that come with me to create a stable shallow water ecology similar to the native environment in the aquarium, i also planted mangroves which lives in Techeng Island in the aquarium ，and used more volcanic rocks at the edge of the tank. In order to reflect the situation that Techeng Island, as a volcanic island, has more volcanic rocks and coral reef stones coexisting in the coast and shallow water under the action of wave erosion and transportation, and provides a habitat for shallow water creatures together. The water outlet of filter cartridge and wave-making pump can simulate the natural sea water flow, and mangrove can also maintain the ecological balance in the aquarium to a certain extent.

Description of Equipment: BM QQ2蛋白质分离器BM QQ2 Protein separator
rgb鱼缸背景板RGB Fish tank background plate
50w水草灯 Water grass lamp 50w
松宝滤筒songbao filter cartridge SF-1000F/F-UV
Wave pump

Water Parameters: temperature：25 °C
pH：8.1
KH：9

Additional Info: I used natural living stones and coral reef stones, the small organisms and algae and flora that come with me to create a stable shallow water ecology similar to the native environment in the aquarium, i also planted mangroves which lives in Techeng Island in the aquarium ，and used more volcanic rocks at the edge of the tank. In order to reflect the situation that Techeng Island, as a volcanic island, has more volcanic rocks and coral reef stones coexisting in the coast and shallow water under the action of wave erosion and transportation, and provides a habitat for shallow water creatures together. The water outlet of filter cartridge and wave-making pump can simulate the natural sea water flow, and mangrove can also maintain the ecological balance in the aquarium to a certain extent.

Aquarium video:

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/NVDjIU8mC4Js_A

Description of the Area Surrounding the Biotope: Techengdao is adjacent to Zhanjiang City in the north and the nearest distance from Nansan Island is about 800m, the southeast is the harbor estuary connected with the Pacific Ocean, the south is the wide bay facing Dongtoushan Island and East Island, the west is the fourth operation area of Zhanjiang Port, and it is 1.4km away from Xiashan Wharf in the urban area. The whole island is 1.4km wide from north to south, 2.7km long from east to west, 7.44km long coastline and covers an area of about 360 hectares. The total area of Ocean Park is 1893.2 hectares, of which the land area of Techeng Island is 360 hectares, accounting for 19% of the total area. The sea area is 1533.2 hectares, accounting for 81% of the total area. Its sea area and area do not include HT-T (Haitou-Techeng) protected area (56.8 hectares) in Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve, Guangdong Province. Zhanjiang’s typical islands and marine ecosystems are the main carriers, and Techeng Island is characterized by its unique coastal biological community landscape, rich and diverse waterfowl, migratory birds and marine life, spectacular sea scenery and unique volcanic geological relics. The main vegetation types of dominant building plant species include intertidal rare Avicennia marina ancient trees mangrove, coastal Casuarina equisetifolia forest, village feng shui forest, farmland artificial crop vegetation and grassland. Seaweed plant halophilous grass is distributed on the outer beach of mangrove forest edge in Dongcun. It is a volcanic island, composed of a large number of volcanic rocks.

Description of the Underwater Landscape of the Biotope: Techengdao is adjacent to Zhanjiang City in the north and the nearest distance from Nansan Island is about 800m, the southeast is the harbor estuary connected with the Pacific Ocean, the south is the wide bay facing Dongtoushan Island and East Island, the west is the fourth operation area of Zhanjiang Port, and it is 1.4km away from Xiashan Wharf in the urban area. The whole island is 1.4km wide from north to south, 2.7km long from east to west, 7.44km long coastline and covers an area of about 360 hectares. The total area of Ocean Park is 1893.2 hectares, of which the land area of Techeng Island is 360 hectares, accounting for 19% of the total area. The sea area is 1533.2 hectares, accounting for 81% of the total area. Its sea area and area do not include HT-T (Haitou-Techeng) protected area (56.8 hectares) in Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve, Guangdong Province. Zhanjiang’s typical islands and marine ecosystems are the main carriers, and Techeng Island is characterized by its unique coastal biological community landscape, rich and diverse waterfowl, migratory birds and marine life, spectacular sea scenery and unique volcanic geological relics. The main vegetation types of dominant building plant species include intertidal rare Avicennia marina ancient trees mangrove, coastal Casuarina equisetifolia forest, village feng shui forest, farmland artificial crop vegetation and grassland. Seaweed plant halophilous grass is distributed on the outer beach of mangrove forest edge in Dongcun. It is a volcanic island, composed of a large number of volcanic rocks.

Description of the Habitat Parameters: Techengdao is located in Zhanjiang Harbor, southeast of xiashan district, Zhanjiang City. The whole island covers an area of 3.6 square kilometers. It is located in the tropical and subtropical climate. The annual average temperature is between 21 and 22 degrees, and the four seasons are like spring. The air quality is excellent, the seawater quality is crystal clear, there are nearly 100 towering ancient banyan trees and intermittently distributed tropical shrubs on the island, the beach is 3 kilometers, and there are nearly 1,000 acres of natural mangroves protected by the state along the coast. The natural conditions and geographical location are superior.

List of Fishes and Invertebrates Occurring in the Nature Biotope: ostrea gigas tnunb
Uca
Periophthalmus cantonensis
Corythoichthys haematopterus
Nuchequula nuchalis
Ambassis
Apogon aureus
Omobranchus elegans
Parioglossus Philippinus
Monodactylus argenteus
Holothuria atra
Corythoichthys haematopterus
Astropecten polyacanthus
Clibanarius humilis
Clibanarius arethusa
Clibanarius virescens

List of Plants Found in the Nature Biotope: Bruguiera gymnorhiza
Rhizophora stylosa
Caulerpa lentillifera
Caulerpa taxifolia
Scagassum
Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh.
Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L.
Kandelia candel (Linn.) Druce / Kandelia obovata
Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) Sweet
Hibiscus tiliaceus Linn.
Aegiceras corniculatum (Linn.) Blanco
Hypneaceae
eyssonnelia squamaria

Threats to the Ecology of the Biotope: The single standard index method, comprehensive index WQI method, organic pollution index method and eutrophication evaluation method were used to evaluate the water environment quality of the mangrove nature reserve in Techeng Island. The results showed that DIN, DO, petroleum and PO43-P were the main pollutants in the mangrove nature reserve of Techeng Island, and their annual average concentrations were 0.54, 4.83, 0.061 and 0.033 mg/L, and the single average pollution index was 1.81, 1.30122 and 1.10, respectively, among which DIN was the most serious pollution, and the DIN content in all monitoring stations was far from meeting the second-class seawater quality standard. The average value of comprehensive pollution index of water quality in Techeng island Mangrove Nature Reserve is 142, which indicates that the water environment quality in this area generally belongs to the light pollution level. The average value of organic pollution index is 2.44, and the degree of organic pollution belongs to level 4, which indicates that the waters in this area are slightly polluted by organic pollution: the average value of eutrophication index is 596, which is in a state of high eutrophication. Due to the influence of Zhanjiang Port, the water quality of mangrove nature reserve in Techeng Island is seriously affected.
Due to climate warming and water quality deterioration, coral reefs around the world are deteriorating. The essential wild life stone in the original marine tank is the corpse of sclereid coral. The exploitation of living stones will have an impact on marine ecology to some extent. Therefore, I use some volcanic rocks in Techeng Island to replace a part of the living stones in the marine tanks with the loose and porous characteristics of the volcanic rocks, so that microorganisms and algae on the living stones can multiply in the volcanic rocks, thus achieving the effect of “artificial living stones” and reducing the exploitation and use of the living stones in the marine tanks to some extent.

Sources of Information:
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