Over pop

[flywithpride]

I have had a Fresh water system foryears and am now looking to start a saltwater tank. I was just wondering how much is two much? In fresh i always did on fish for every 2gal of water and never had an over pop problem. Is there a simlar rule of thum for saltwater tanks?

 

[royal gang]

i think it's a gallon per inch is this right? :notsure:

 

[emonemo]

gallon per inch in freshwater. But everywhere i looked it has always said that freshwater fish need less water per inch than salt. so ide go with like 2gl per inch in saltwater.

 

[scubaguy]

Actually it is 1" for 5 gallons. So for a 20 gallon tank they suggest two 2" fish. A lot of books suggest that if you want fish to go with a 55 gallon to start with for saltwater.

 

[jkoz24]

Originally Posted by ScubaGuy
Actually it is 1" for 5 gallons. So for a 20 gallon tank they suggest two 2" fish. A lot of books suggest that if you want fish to go with a 55 gallon to start with for saltwater.
Is that 1" for 5 gallons...fully grown or at the current size? I've heard that you go by the fully grown size,but not sure if that is correct or not.

 

[fatrip]

there is no real formula, 1" for 1 gallon or 1"for 5 gallons. it all depends on the amount of biological filtration that you have in the tank. maybe if you have 20 lbs of live rock in a 20 gallon tank you could only have one or two fish...
it also depends on what type of fish, some fish are way dirtyer than other fish, like lion fish, are vary messy eaters they, as well as most types of box fish, but then you have the other end of the spectrum with a maderin or a blenny that eat the algae and arnt putting extra ammonia and nitrates into the water with there messy eating habits.
but you also need to be logical when putting fish in a tank. you wouldnt put a 9 inch fish in a 40 gallon tank, it is just assinine.

 

[fatrip]

i forgot one other point in my pervious post.....gas exchange also plays an important part in determining the question "how many fish?"....if you do not have alot of surface area on the top of your tank or a way to airate the tank... the envirnment in the tank will not beable to sistain as many fish.
the best way to tell how many creatures you tank will sistain is to add a few fish, after the tank is established, let the tank balance with those fish then add one more and check of all of the aspects of the tank are doing well, nitrates, ammonia, nitrites, O'2 levels, things to that nature. and keep adding until the bio load of the tank is over loaded, you will see this by any one of the aspects of the tank fluctuating. and that is when you decresse the population in the tank.

 

[flywithpride]

Thanks guys all the help is great!

 

[1journeyman]

SW fish don't like to be crowded. They live in the ocean

. That's another thing that must be considered.
Yes, you must consider the adult size of a fish, not the size you buy it at.