Capacity

[jc1of2]

I have read several opinions on how many inches of fish per gallon should be used, but I wonder does the adult size of the fish have an affect on the rules. For instance do three 3" clown fish equal one 9" blue tang in regards to the amount of waste they produce?
Also I am wondering if I can add a six line wrasse or a dwarf angel to my tank. 75 gallon with 85 pounds of LR. Ammonia and Nitrite are zero and Nitrate about 10, ppm? I have a bak pak skimmer and a canister filter that I am planning on adding LR rubble to down the road. I have an ocellaris clown, clown goby, 2 firefish, a honey chromis, and a 3" blue tang. Do snails and crabs count when you plan on the bio load?

 

[Fluff]

The inch rule really is a guide to keep you from over doing it but it's not anywhere written in stone. In my opinion, one 3" tang is a larger waste producer than three clowns together. You definitely should take adult size into consideration. I think you could fit either of those fish into your tank without a problem. Good luck.

 

[fishfreek]

Inverts dont count toward the bioload. Given your existing load I would say yes you can add one six line to your tank or one dwarf angel. At that point I would call the tank at full capacity. One thing to remember is that saltwater holds less disolved oxygen than FW and while the tank might be able to support many more fish with all filtration running and frequent water changes should the filtration stop (power outage) an overstocked tank can quickly be a deathwish as fish start sufficating from lack of disolved oxygen.

I have seen it happen before in tanks where there are way to many fish but as long as the filtration is running things are ok but with a period as breif as 1 hour with no filtration fish start to seriously suffer.

 

[demodiki]

My lawnmower blenny poops MUCH more than my maroon clown...and they're about the same size.

Gross I know but you get the idea.