Fish bio load

[Saltgator]

Everybody has a love for fish in their reef at some point. Just want to see how everyone gauges their bio load to avoid excess nutrients from too much fish waste, so how do you determine your bio load? If you've got pics of all your happy fish, post it up!

 

[TJ's Reef]

Hey Brad, my success to keeping an 'Ultra High Bio-load' Reeftank is IMO/IME to have it all balanced out. Large mass of Fish + Large mass of Coral + Large mass of Macro Algae + Over sized Mechanical Filtration + Large Bio-diversity = HAPPY NATURAL LOOKING REEFTANK. Pics below is from just a few minutes ago, most of my 22 Fish in my 125g DT coming up to greet me this morning.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Saltgator]

Thanks a bunch Todd. Always nice seeing your well balanced system.

 

[footballdude2k3]

Todd, do you ever have any aggression in there? I had a tiny PBT in a 125, and he was not happy with anybody else that was in there, so I was just curious if I got a super aggressive one, or if that is kind of the norm

 

[TJ's Reef]

Todd, do you ever have any aggression in there? I had a tiny PBT in a 125, and he was not happy with anybody else that was in there, so I was just curious if I got a super aggressive one, or if that is kind of the norm

Right or Wrong I have used the 'African Chiclid' methodology in spreading out the aggression by having multiple fish within a species. It has mostly worked out very well over past 30+ years and have only had one non-compliant Clown Tang in that time. My Powder Blue had a bit of a hard time adjusting to not being the 'King' of the tank when the Blochii and Naso surpassed him size wise and was a little warfare between him and Blochii for a few months. Keeping them very well fed and with a variety of seaweeds both fresh and dried (Nori) also helps. My latest addition the once tiny Yellow Tang is just now starting to test the PB's patience a bit so expect some upcoming horseplay.

Cheers, Todd

 

[LegitFish]

Here it is...I know it is a little over-stocked for a 120, but I've never had problems. <5 nitrate, and 0 phosphate. I do about 20-25g water changes every 1-1.5 weeks. I also have a 30g attached.

 

[jackson6745]

Saltgator, I have 25 fish, mostly wrasses, in my 115g cube. I believe my tank is very balanced at the moment. SPS are very happy, parameters are great, no cyano or nuisance algae besides some bubble algae. I am able to maintain this with a quality skimmer, micron sock, prodibio bioptim/biodigest, and I use microbelift special blend and nite-out II (following maintenance directions on bottle). I also have a separate rock rubble area in my sump with an additional 25lbs.

IMO bacterial stability is the determining factor of what bioload your tank will handle. Adequate surface area for nitryifing bacteria to populate is very important. Rapid conversion of Ammonia and Nitrite in heavy stock tanks is a must to keep a system flourishing. IMO you must do this without creating a nutrient sink to keep it working optimally. Tanks with too much rock in display, too little flow, dirty sand beds etc… don't function as efficiently. This is why I opted to keep less rock in display and have a separate rubble compartment. Water passes through micron sock before the rubble so detritus is minimal.

To answer your question, I use cyano as a gauge that I have too much bioload at that given moment… This is not to say that stocking threshold has been reached. Several weeks or months later your system may develop more bacteria to cope with more fish and eliminate cyano.

Don't know if I am right or wrong in my explanation, but this is how I make sense of things :)
Here's a quick tank video with a small feeding

[video=youtube_share;ibA3w2pJhXo]http://youtu.be/ibA3w2pJhXo[/video]

 

[Saltgator]

Thanks Jackson and legitfish. Very nicely done!

 

[Saltgator]

Bump, let's here more!

 

[LegitFish]

I found it extremely beneficial to have a deeper sandbed. Everything suddenly became more stable.

 

[reif119]

Here it is...I know it is a little over-stocked for a 120, but I've never had problems. <5 nitrate, and 0 phosphate. I do about 20-25g water changes every 1-1.5 weeks. I also have a 30g attached.

Your tank is amazing!!!

 

[LegitFish]

Thank you, Much appreciated!