Bio-load calculating

maddiesmom · Jan 3, 2020

Hi, I'm returning to the hobby after 30+ years. Everything is SO different now. I'm going to be setting up a 135 gallon tank but I'm not sure how to calculate the bio-load. Does anyone have a formula for it?
My husband is making a sump (with refugium) from a 40 gallon tank we bought. We will be using 2 Maxspect XF250's (the tank will be 72x18x24). We will SLOWLY add fish, inverts and a clean up crew after the tank has completely cycled and months down the road we'll add coral.
Thanks for putting up with another newbie, albeit an old newbie.
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Ron Reefman · Jan 3, 2020

Well, welcome back to the hobby and welcome to Reef2Reef!

I don't even know of any good rule of thumb that really holds water (pun intended). With all the newer equipment that has come out, it kind of depends on just how far you want to go.

Given you intend to build the system and then add fish slowly over time and then add coral later, I think bio-load is an almost insignificant point. If you are paying attention to cues like your skimmer output, refugium algae growth, water parameters and such, you'll know if you are getting close to the limit.

BTW, good luck with the new system, have fun... that's what this is all suppose to be about, and keep asking questions.

Sailingeric · Jan 3, 2020

I think a lots down to what kind of fish you keep. I have 15 fish but 1/3 are damsels and they put out a lot less poo than one hippo tang puts out. ;)

maddiesmom · Jan 3, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
Well, welcome back to the hobby and welcome to Reef2Reef!

I don't even know of any good rule of thumb that really holds water (pun intended). With all the newer equipment that has come out, it kind of depends on just how far you want to go.

Given you intend to build the system and then add fish slowly over time and then add coral later, I think bio-load is an almost insignificant point. If you are paying attention to cues like your skimmer output, refugium algae growth, water parameters and such, you'll know if you are getting close to the limit.

BTW, good luck with the new system, have fun... that's what this is all suppose to be about, and keep asking questions.

Thank you for your greeting and reply. It makes perfect sense.
Thank you for your input, I appreciate it.

Ron Reefman · Jan 3, 2020

You are very welcome. I wish there was some kind of rule of thumb, but like most things in this hobby, there are just so many variables to consider. ;)