general stocking practices

[fins]

Experienced aquarists, when you're planning how to stock a tank, what do you take into consideration to determine if it's fully stocked?

Obviously fish have to be compatible tempermentally and with the water parameters. But how do you know how many fish are not enough, too much, or just right?

I'm familiar with aqadvisor but I don't completely trust it.

 

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You can usually add a little more than aqadvisor tells you, I'm not an expert so I won't say any more

 

[Jantaris]

Experienced aquarists, when you're planning how to stock a tank, what do you take into consideration to determine if it's fully stocked?

Obviously fish have to be compatible tempermentally and with the water parameters. But how do you know how many fish are not enough, too much, or just right?

I'm familiar with aqadvisor but I don't completely trust it.

I'm not an expert either but one of things you have to consider is how big the fish are now, how big they will get, and whether your set-up can maintain that for the long term. If it can't, do you plan on upgrading. If you are stocked or over stocked, do you have enough filtration? How many water changes will you be doing weekly and at what percentage of water? The real question, I think, is will you be able to Maintain the enviro. I'll admit, we tend to go to full stock or slightly over at times in terms of what will happen as the fish grow, so we move forward with a plan. I think the consensus for most here would be to go lighter than what aqadvisor suggests, at least that's the impression I get.

 

[Jantaris]

Experienced aquarists, when you're planning how to stock a tank, what do you take into consideration to determine if it's fully stocked?

Obviously fish have to be compatible tempermentally and with the water parameters. But how do you know how many fish are not enough, too much, or just right?

I'm familiar with aqadvisor but I don't completely trust it.

I'll add, too, that it is very hard to give a solid number as different fish will grow to different sizes and have different bio loads. You could have a 30 gallon with, say, 7 or 8 fish that could grow several inches or more each, or alternately have 15-20 fish or more that will have smaller bioloads and stay smaller in size. It's really about fish size and bio load, I think.

 

[fins]

So what determines bioload? Common sense tells me type and amount of food eaten and amount of waste generated (but how is that measured?), are there other factors?

 

[Mcor]

I think common sense is key here. I didn't use any calculators while stocking my tank. I added, added some more, then added more again, and reached what I considered to be my limit. Only then did I check with aquadvisor and I was 99% stocked! I think so long as you've taken into consideration the full size of your fish and how much poo they typically do, you can "see" when you're reaching your limit.

 

[CMOS]

So what determines bioload? Common sense tells me type and amount of food eaten and amount of waste generated (but how is that measured?), are there other factors?

This is a good point to highlight - feed schedule (amount) will have a fairly large impact on your system's bio load.

Fish do not need a whole lot of food . . .


CMOS

 

[Old Scales]

I best "real" indicator IMO is your Nitrate accumulation rate. This is assuming you are fully cycled with a well established tank. If the tank is planted and by how much and what type of plants. The more bio-load you have the quicker your nitrates reach your predetermined limit. This limit is what your most nitrate sensitive fish will tolerate. Usually most people's action point for WC due to nitrate is 20 to 30 ppm except for more sensitive fish which is usually 10ppm. You could have 200% stocking and do daily 50% WC's or stock 50% and do maybe a WC every two weeks. Just how much work are you willing to do? So, if you choose to do a 50% WC once a week, stock your tank a little at a time. Test the water every other day for Nitrates. Note how many days it takes to reach, say 20ppm. Then that is your WC schedule. After that, test your water no less than one a week. Nitrate accumulation rate over time with your particular set up is the real constant that can't be disputed. I hope I explained it well. It's kinda hard to. Good luck, OS.

 

[fins]

I best "real" indicator IMO is your Nitrate accumulation rate. This is assuming you are fully cycled with a well established tank. If the tank is planted and by how much and what type of plants. The more bio-load you have the quicker your nitrates reach your predetermined limit. This limit is what your most nitrate sensitive fish will tolerate. Usually most people's action point for WC due to nitrate is 20 to 30 ppm except for more sensitive fish which is usually 10ppm. You could have 200% stocking and do daily 50% WC's or stock 50% and do maybe a WC every two weeks. Just how much work are you willing to do? So, if you choose to do a 50% WC once a week, stock your tank a little at a time. Test the water every other day for Nitrates. Note how many days it takes to reach, say 20ppm. Then that is your WC schedule. After that, test your water no less than one a week. Nitrate accumulation rate over time with your particular set up is the real constant that can't be disputed. I hope I explained it well. It's kinda hard to. Good luck, OS.

No you explained it perfectly. This is exactly the kind of in-depth advice I was hoping for, thanks!

 

[NYgiantsRP]

A common misconception is that you can over stock and then just do more water changes, but that only works to a certain extant. If your water parameters are constantly rising and falling it can be detrimental to the fish.

Water, food, light, tank size, water changes, individual fish, other fish, decor, substrate, filter output, water movement, oxygen, there is endless amounts of variables! The best thing to do is stock slowly and thoughtfully, research the fish you want and you will usually succeed.

 

[Cynic]

I best "real" indicator IMO is your Nitrate accumulation rate. This is assuming you are fully cycled with a well established tank. If the tank is planted and by how much and what type of plants. The more bio-load you have the quicker your nitrates reach your predetermined limit. This limit is what your most nitrate sensitive fish will tolerate. Usually most people's action point for WC due to nitrate is 20 to 30 ppm except for more sensitive fish which is usually 10ppm. You could have 200% stocking and do daily 50% WC's or stock 50% and do maybe a WC every two weeks. Just how much work are you willing to do? So, if you choose to do a 50% WC once a week, stock your tank a little at a time. Test the water every other day for Nitrates. Note how many days it takes to reach, say 20ppm. Then that is your WC schedule. After that, test your water no less than one a week. Nitrate accumulation rate over time with your particular set up is the real constant that can't be disputed. I hope I explained it well. It's kinda hard to. Good luck, OS.

That's an excellent post

 

[Old Scales]

+1with NY. Stock slowly and watch your levels regularly. WC's are the aquarist's best friend. OS.