Acceptable bioload?

[saltnewb]

I have had my 55gal reeffish tank going for about five months, and recently had a bad outbreak of ich. I think it was due to temperature fluctuations and pH fluctuation. Can a bio-load that is too high(too many fish) cause pH fluctuations? I have had four fish die in the last few days, so this is a really expensive lesson that I want to learn the first time. What is an acceptable bio-load for this size tank? And do invertibrates factor into the bio-load? I really want to fix my problems because until now I have really enjoyed this hobby. If you couldn't tell yet, this is my first saltwater tank
:help:

 

[technik]

Ich will not just break out after 5 months. Did you put new fish/inverts into the tank recently?

 

[gkp]

Sometimes ick can just come for no reason like where i live in wis you must be carefull when the wether changes from fall to winter. many people have outbrakes at this time no one knows why the tank temps remain the same but some thing triggers it you have to remember any marine bioligest will tell you ick is always in your tank you just dont see it untill imune systoms go down for some reason. I would say one of your fish got a little sick and the parisite bred on him and spread.

 

[gkp]

Yes I agree but when you buy live rock from a store they are on it. although they incubate in the sand you could probably get them on corals also its just my opinion but I would be willing to bet 99% of houshold aquariums have it even if they have never seen it unless of course they have treeted the water for it, so I guess 99% of reef tanks probably have it cant put copper in them and even the copper only kills the swimming ones not the eggs wich can lay dormant.

 

[technik]

Ich does not stay present in the tank. It dies completely if there is no fish for it to latch onto since it is a parasite which can not feed off anything else. Read on the life cycle of ich. They are free larvae in the water and then attach to fish and form a cyst(egg) that later detachs and hatches more larvae. If the fish in the tank always carried Ich you would see the white cyst on them all the time. Yes fish can fight it off in the wild, but once the ich mutiplies in the confined spaces of a fish tank they can overwhelm even the healthiest fish. This fact has been tested and well documented.

 

[saltnewb]

Thanks for all the info on ich! Could someone please address the bio-load issue? How many inches of fish per 55/gallon reef tank, and do the inverts count in the equation? Thanks

 

[technik]

The inchs per gallon is an old measurement. You will need to determine thier adult size and depending on the fish ie: Tangs (they need lots of tank width to swim vs depth) Inverts do not count much into the equation of bioload. Next time QT new fish and inverts for 2-4 weeks before putting them into the main tank. Just to be safe I treat my new fish for ich and bacteria infections before putting them in after QT.

 

[shawnhardy]

What fish did/do you have in your tank?

 

[technik]

In my 55g I have a Lemon Peel Angel, Flame Angel, Royal Gramma, Purple Pseudochromis, Mandarin, and 2 Ocellaris clowns. All of my fish are pretty much close to adult size except the clowns which are tiny. There is also 80 lbs or LR for them to be comfy in.