Is my tank really overstocked?

reid4

reid4

Member
standard 90g with 30g sump..
Recommended temperature range: 75.2 - 82.4 F. [Display in Celsius]
Recommended pH range: 8.1 - 8.4.
Recommended water change schedule: 11% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 99%. [Generate Image]Help on Generate Image]
http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisorMa...chMode=simple&
That site said my tank was at 99% stocking, but how accurate is the site?
 
krfish

krfish

New Member
Hmm, something sure doesnt seem right. For example, my understanding is that water changes for a healthy tank are a monthly thing. Only to become more frequent if something is out of whack, like too much ammonia.
IMO how much stock you have in your tank has more to do with the balance of your tank. For example, if you have allot of live rock, your tank (in general) can tolerate more. I've heard that the general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for every gallon of actual water. But that can change depending on how you have your tank setup. For just one example, a refugium helps your tank filter better than just a sump. Lots of live rock, filter feeders, frequency of water changes, etc. all affect this.
Anyway --- for some site to make a general statement like that seems odd.
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
yes. 12 fish for a 90 is alot. in my 90 i had 4 fish.
i would rid the coral beauty, LMB, anthias. keep the 4 chromis, 1 yt tang , 2x clowns sixline. the others i think will be a competition for space and territory. with less fish you have less of a bio load making your wc's less of a week to week thing.
i had a 6line, 2 tangs and a watchman and did wc's every week and a half. sometimes every 2 weeks and had clean water.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by krfish
http:///forum/post/3287723
I've heard that the general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for every gallon of actual water.

I have heard this in the fresh water world. I am not sure it flys in the marine aquarium.
In general, IIRC, marine tanks will follow 1" for every 5-7 gallons of water.
I may be wrong...............
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3287896
WHAT THE HECK IS IIRC
IIRC, IIRC means If I Remember Correctly

Well, it's certainly not 1" per gallon, a 30" eel would be pretty cramped in a 30gallon tank.... There are several reasons why it's impossible for a inch per gallon rule to exist for saltwater. First, the fish are so different. 30" of fish, comprised of chromis, gobies, anthias, and cardinals in a 90gallon aquarium seems downright reasonable. However 30" of one Blacktip shark stuffed into a 90gal, would be horrid. Second is filtration. The difference in levels of filtration are hugely significant. A 90gal tank that just has a Seaclone 100 skimmer, has significantly less filtration power, then say a 90gal with a $1,000 Bubbleking skimmer, huge refugium, multiple reactors, etc.
Personally your stocking is on the high side, but they all are mostly reasonable fish. I.E. it's not 12 tangs in there. The fact you are able to keep a solitary Dispar anthias, suggests to me that aggression is at least somewhat limited, as they are a tougher fish to keep alive.
Continue to monitor your tanks levels, and if you have to start doing more and more water changes to maintain the parameters, then it's probably time to remove some fish.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Your filtration capacity including biofilter, mechanical filter, and chemical filter will determine if you are over stocked or not. In a system like yours maintenance of the filtration and a good water change schedule should help to keep everything in balance. Testing for nitrates on a regular basis will tell you if you have too much bioload for the filtration systems to maintain.
 
slice

slice

Active Member
This "advisor" is a fun little experiment, but note that is admits it is "highly experimental". My 47g with 6 juveniles is 101% stocked on main page, but when I click "generate image", the result changes to 15% stocked, meaning I could have 36 fish!
OP's "generate image" changes stock load to 7%.
As spanko says, filtration should be added to the calculations to get anywhere near usefull benchmark results, and this experiment has a looooong way to go...
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I think you're at capacity, but if your water tests are okay, than you're fine. I have a heavily stocked tank as well. It all comes down to filtration. I'm curious to say what this site says about my tank....
My tank is at 105% ... LOL
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
My biocube 29 gallon is 87% full according to the site.
Tailspot blenny
African flameback angel
Bali tiger jawfish (not listed used yellowhead)
Chalk bass
Helfrichi firefish (not listed used firefish
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Honestly, I'd say you're at your limit too. In fact I'd consider letting go of the LMB - you have three fish, including him, competing for the same food source, and the LMB will probably be the one to lose that battle. Sounds like a beautifully stocked aquarium, though!
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
That's kind of a cool calculator, but they need to do a lot of work with adding species. None of the large Angels are listed, and no rabbitfish of any kind either....quite a lot were missing in fact. Still, though, it's kinda cool.
I substituted a yellow tang for my foxface, and a picasso trigger for my Koran angel. apparently I'm at 99 percent too, but then - I figure my 8 fish are the limit for my 110g tank.
edit: I just tried this for my seahorse tank. Apparently 3 H. erectus horses puts me at 125% capacity.
So I'm guessing they have a few kinks to work out.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
They have a lot of kinks to work out and a lot of fish are not listed, I had to substitute a lot. It's a good starting point, but there's a lot more to it than just throwing fish in a tank. That being said, I think beginners might find some great use/help in it.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I would actually worry about some possible misleading things for beginners. For instance, I have 2 green mandarins in my 110g tank. I have a fuge plumbed in that's packed with macroalgae, plus a lot of live rock in the display, so I know I'm safe with my two pod hoovers. However, a tank with my footprint would not necessarily be safe for 2 mandarins without the extra rock and 'fuge. The calculator here didn't even BLINK at the mention of two mandarins - I would have thought some comment would have been made.
Eh, as you say, it's a cool start. It will take a lot of work to get up to speed, and I give all the kudos in the world to the guy who's programming this thing!
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
That's true, I have two mandarins in my 155. It yelled at me for two dwarf angels, but made no mention of the mandarins.
 
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