Ok so I was thinking today. Everyone uses the not so efficient 1 inch per gallon rule. I actually use it as a baseline to keep track of what I am doing but I modify it. This is a better method (I think) that I thought up. Please critic for me!
So instead of keeping track of stocking in inches lets use points. Lets also go so far as to say that you get one point per gallon of water (not in extremely tall tanks but we will get to that later).
With 1 point per gallon established lets establish tank categories. Well use L for long (20 long, standard 55, etc), T for tall, and ET for extremely tall. So now we have that guideline. One more note before we discuss adding fish: As a generalized rule lets say that any fish 4 inches or over has to be in a tank with a volume (in gallons) 10 times its lenght in inches. For example a 5 inch fish must be in a 50 gallon tank.
Now we can assign points! So a fish like a neon tetra, after considering its bioload and size would be given a point value of 1. Whereas the similar sized guppy, after considering its bioload, would be given a point value of 3. But what if I wanted zebra danios? Its point value would be 2 so I could have 10 in a 20 gallon tall right? No. A zebra danios point value would be 2L. 2 because of its size and bioload and L because it requires a long tank! What about fish with almost no bio-load? Are you saying 1 per gallon? NO! A fish with a small bio-load, like a shrimp, would be given a fractional point value. 1/10 of a point for a small shrimp!
I realize that this does not take everything into account. No system could. Aggression, water parameters, and the like would need to be considered seperatly. But this would provide a way to keep track of stocking levels without using the extremely faulty inch per gallon rule. The reason people keep using it is because it lets you visualize your stocking in a way. Now as far as stocking an extra tall tank I'm a little lost......
So yall! What do you think? I want honest opinions please!
God bless!
So instead of keeping track of stocking in inches lets use points. Lets also go so far as to say that you get one point per gallon of water (not in extremely tall tanks but we will get to that later).
With 1 point per gallon established lets establish tank categories. Well use L for long (20 long, standard 55, etc), T for tall, and ET for extremely tall. So now we have that guideline. One more note before we discuss adding fish: As a generalized rule lets say that any fish 4 inches or over has to be in a tank with a volume (in gallons) 10 times its lenght in inches. For example a 5 inch fish must be in a 50 gallon tank.
Now we can assign points! So a fish like a neon tetra, after considering its bioload and size would be given a point value of 1. Whereas the similar sized guppy, after considering its bioload, would be given a point value of 3. But what if I wanted zebra danios? Its point value would be 2 so I could have 10 in a 20 gallon tall right? No. A zebra danios point value would be 2L. 2 because of its size and bioload and L because it requires a long tank! What about fish with almost no bio-load? Are you saying 1 per gallon? NO! A fish with a small bio-load, like a shrimp, would be given a fractional point value. 1/10 of a point for a small shrimp!
I realize that this does not take everything into account. No system could. Aggression, water parameters, and the like would need to be considered seperatly. But this would provide a way to keep track of stocking levels without using the extremely faulty inch per gallon rule. The reason people keep using it is because it lets you visualize your stocking in a way. Now as far as stocking an extra tall tank I'm a little lost......
So yall! What do you think? I want honest opinions please!
God bless!
and would make it fun and really make ppl concider the fish's needs on an environment if they didn't already.
