bioload for 180

[puffer200]

i have 240 lbs of rock. 2 mated pairs of percula's, a purple tang and a six line wrasse. i also have 2 peppermint shrimp a cbs and about 7 or 8 pieces of coral. just wondering how many more fish i can add (med to small) and be ok. nitrates are staying under 20. thanks filtration=sump and protein skimmer

 

[snakeblitz33]

Your nitrates are getting a bit high. Check your protein skimmer to make sure that it is running efficiantly. Make sure that you have enough flow by adding a few powerheads to your main tank. You should have more detitrus eaters. Maybe you can stock up with a variety of gobies and blennies. Maybe a jawfish to stir up the sandbed. Get something functional at least. I think swf.com has firefish for a deal right now, they're really cool and add a bit to the reef. Anthias would be neat, but require a nice fully grown reef to survive. They do well in groups.
Your tank can take a heck of a lot more fish and more bioload. In my old 90 gallon aquarium, I had four tangs, two clowns, baggai cardinal, six blue reef chromis, six line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, mandarin goby and some other fish. I wasn't even close to reaching my max, so you should be good.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
Your nitrates are getting a bit high. Check your protein skimmer to make sure that it is running efficiantly. Make sure that you have enough flow by adding a few powerheads to your main tank. You should have more detitrus eaters. Maybe you can stock up with a variety of gobies and blennies. Maybe a jawfish to stir up the sandbed. Get something functional at least. I think swf.com has firefish for a deal right now, they're really cool and add a bit to the reef. Anthias would be neat, but require a nice fully grown reef to survive. They do well in groups.
Your tank can take a heck of a lot more fish and more bioload. In my old 90 gallon aquarium, I had four tangs, two clowns, baggai cardinal, six blue reef chromis, six line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, mandarin goby and some other fish. I wasn't even close to reaching my max, so you should be good.
I would agree with that light of a bioload, your nitrates should me miniscule. You have alot of room to play with in my opinion. But first I'd try to figure out where those trates are comming from. To float some Ideas, not mentioned before, you may be feeding to much, and what are you using for water alot of times tap water intoduces that stuff into the system.
Why not get some larger fish, you have a huge tank! Plenty of room for tangs! Personally I love the sailfin.

 

[sh00tist]

You do have a nirate issue to deal within a tank that size with so few fish you should have zero nitrates,most likely it is from overfeeding,tap water or detritus building up in dead spots on your rock,down in your sump all of the above. Your tank can support a lot more fish maybe 3x the number you have,if they are smaller. One thing you should take into account when selecting new fish is your purple tang. They are commonly thought of as the most aggressive tang and I think you would have major issues if you tried to introduce any new tangs,it would most likely go after any fish with a similar body type such as butterflys but you may get away with an angel. I would start checking out some wrass but you allready have a 6 line and they are known to be very aggressive towards other wrass. If it was me I would trap the six line and get some really nice tamarin and fairy type wrass. Also a pistol shrimp and a couple of shrimp gobys are a lot of fun. Jawfish are really neat,Ive got a dusky now and they are a lot more hardy than the blue spots and pearly jaws. I really like my dusky he isnt afraid of sperpent stars and hermits and really stands his ground. There are a lot of really neat gobys you could get and one blenny as they tend to fight.

 

[puffer200]

thanks for the replies. my tank has been running for about six months now. i'm not sure where the trates are coming from. i do have a few dead spots with some detritus buildup but seems like an insignificant amt considering the overall size. i do about 30 gallon (ro) changes every two to three weeks. there is also a little buildup in the sump but not much. the corals, inverts and fish seem to be flourishing. will trates at that concentration (20) effect the livestock on a long term scale???

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by puffer200
thanks for the replies. my tank has been running for about six months now. i'm not sure where the trates are coming from. i do have a few dead spots with some detritus buildup but seems like an insignificant amt considering the overall size. i do about 30 gallon (ro) changes every two to three weeks. there is also a little buildup in the sump but not much. the corals, inverts and fish seem to be flourishing. will trates at that concentration (20) effect the livestock on a long term scale???
With fish it isn't that big of a deal. But your corals are more sensitive. With the stock load you have right now, you really shouldn't have any levels at all. What about substrate? Also is your water DI too? Or just RO.

 

[m0nk]

Do a couple more water changes, perhaps once a week (same amount) for the next month and see if that gets the nitrates lower. Also, you might want to add some macro-algae (chaetomorpha is what most people use) into your sump which will help keep nitrates under control going forward. You certainly do have room to add quite a few fish, but if you have coral (depending on what type, specifically) you should kick this nitrate issue before adding too many more fish. Do the water changes, and the nitrates will definitely go down right away, but keep an eye on them over the next 2 months to be sure it doesn't go back up. My suggestion is that if you want to add any fish during that time, keep it limited to 2 at most, then once you see the nitrates go away you can add more. Hope that helps!

 

[ccampbell57]

I have a 180 with ~275#'s of LR. I have 7 BIG fish (3 large angels, 2 triggers, 2 tangs) and my Nitrates are at 0.
You need to check your system to make sure that you have adequate flow as well as adequate skimming. With your bioload, you should have nothing showing

 

[puffer200]

i have about 5000gph running. i think i will try the chaeto. what are the lighting requirements for the chaeto????

 

[lesleybird]

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
Your nitrates are getting a bit high. Check your protein skimmer to make sure that it is running efficiantly. Make sure that you have enough flow by adding a few powerheads to your main tank. You should have more detitrus eaters. Maybe you can stock up with a variety of gobies and blennies. Maybe a jawfish to stir up the sandbed. Get something functional at least. I think swf.com has firefish for a deal right now, they're really cool and add a bit to the reef. Anthias would be neat, but require a nice fully grown reef to survive. They do well in groups.
Your tank can take a heck of a lot more fish and more bioload. In my old 90 gallon aquarium, I had four tangs, two clowns, baggai cardinal, six blue reef chromis, six line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, mandarin goby and some other fish. I wasn't even close to reaching my max, so you should be good.
I don't know how you kept all that in a 90 gallon. That is enough bioload for a tank twice the size. Were the tang really tiny? I have read in several good saltwater books that state that the inches of full grown fish in saltwater fish tanks should be about 1 inch to 3 gallons of water or less. I have never been able to keep any more than that and keep the nitrates low enough, or keeping the fish from killing each other off from territory wars.
When ever I get more than 1 inch of fish per 3 or 4 gallons I always have disease problems from ich or the like because crowded fish are stressed and when stressed fish get sick. Lesley

 

[lesleybird]

Originally Posted by ccampbell57
I have a 180 with ~275#'s of LR. I have 7 BIG fish (3 large angels, 2 triggers, 2 tangs) and my Nitrates are at 0.
You need to check your system to make sure that you have adequate flow as well as adequate skimming. With your bioload, you should have nothing showing
Campbell, how big are your fish? Are they small or full grown? I would think you could keep the fish in there when they are small to medium size but how would one keep the nitrates in check when those fish are all 8 to 10 inches?

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Lesleybird
Campbell, how big are your fish? Are they small or full grown? I would think you could keep the fish in there when they are small to medium size but how would one keep the nitrates in check when those fish are all 8 to 10 inches?
They are all pretty mature, he does some pretty large water changes, and cleans cleans cleans. I'm pretty sure now they are in a 180 if I remember his thread right. And he has some beefy equipment.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Lesleybird
I don't know how you kept all that in a 90 gallon. That is enough bioload for a tank twice the size. Were the tang really tiny? I have read in several good saltwater books that state that the inches of full grown fish in saltwater fish tanks should be about 1 inch to 3 gallons of water or less. I have never been able to keep any more than that and keep the nitrates low enough, or keeping the fish from killing each other off from territory wars.
When ever I get more than 1 inch of fish per 3 or 4 gallons I always have disease problems from ich or the like because crowded fish are stressed and when stressed fish get sick. Lesley
I think that the whole "rule of thumb" x amount of inches per gallon isn't all that great an idea. That concept would say I could have a 10 inch fish in my 45 gallon tank. not going to happen. Likewise fish have different swimming requirements, some need some space, while others perch or whatnot. It doesn't properly take into account the varying amount of waste fish produce. I couldn't put 50 inches of fish into a 200 gallon tank that produce the amount of waste my puffer does. It just has two many variables to be an effective rule of thumb.

 

[al mc]

Puffer...To answer your lighting/chaeto question....pcs are definately good enough..I have heard of some that have used plain fluorescence and been Ok.
I use PC usually.
Other sources of nitrate to consider, if you have not already
crushed coral substrate
filter pads in the sump
bioballs in the sump

 

[stdreb27]

For my chaeto, I use a clamp on hardware light and a pc light that screws into a normal bulb socket, with a 5500k light rating. Even with the chaeto, somewhere their is a problem producing nitrates or being introduced.