Bioload limit? (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

I am wanting to know some opinions about my daughter's tank. It is a 30g acrylic tank with a 10g refugium. The refugium contains live sand, live rock, and varies of macro. In the main tank, there is crushed coral and live sand for the bedding. About 30 pounds of live rock. I have a 1.5 inch percula clownfish, 1 inch domino damsel, 1 inch striped damsel, a 1 inch blue damel, and a 2 inch scooter blenny. Do you think that I am at the bioload? I am just keeping small, hardy fish in it. I am thinking about adding a neon blue goby. I know that if you keep smaller fish that you can have more fish than bigger ones. Some other fish that I have thought about adding are firefish, blue velvet damsel, yellow damsel, another clownfish, or a yellowhead jawfish. How many fish do you think I can have in this setup total? I do water changes on this tank every three weeks. Water quality always stays good. Any imput is appreciated, Thanks, Kimberly.

 

[justin-branam]

all of those fish seem to only be at half or less of their adult size. i would say you are at if not possibly over your bioload limit. you do have a skimmer on that tank right? i would say get rid of a damsel or two if you wanted to add anything else, but you would still be at or over your bioload. this is my opinion of course.

FYI i have 2 clowns, 1 B&W damsel, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 strawberry psuedochromis, and 1 antenna goby in my tank. thats about 14 inches of fish in 115 g of water = just over 8g per inch of fish. right now you are at 6.1g per inch and they will all continue to grow. hope this helps.

so what do you do...get your daughter a bigger tank!!!

 

[Guest]

lol, I just got her this tank not to long ago. She is only 2 years old. She is spoiled.

 

[Guest]

tank

The damsels will get aggressive as they mature, they do not play nice with other small fish as they stake out their territory. I would take all but one of the damsels out and put one or two community fish in. I love firefish and cardinal fish. My 30G has two percs, one firefish, one cardinal fish and one yellow goby. The bioload is just right and I do not see too many swings in nitrates. I also have a hang on decent skimmer and a hang on filter that is transformed into a fuge. The tanks is thriving and everything I put in there grows like mad.
Good luck, I am thinking this tank is as much for you as it is for the two year old, hehe.
Jen

 

[Guest]

I had nothing but the clownfish in the tank for about six weeks, then I added the damsels from my other tank. So, the clownfish is territory and doesn't put up with nothing from the damsels. It is cute. He likes to chase the striped damsel around. The blue one just sticks to himself. I have not actually added the scooter blenny yet, I am getting it today.

Jen,
Do you have LR and/or LS in your 30g?

This tank is for my daughter, but since she is only two. I am the one taking care of it, so I grow attached. Truthfully, I bought the damsels for my tank when I first set it up, then I didn't need them anymore, so I gave them to her when we got her the tank. I am debating whether to put the scooter blenny in my 55g, but I am afraid that the other fish might pick at him. All my fish are between 2-3inch. and the scooter blenny is 2 inch. Also, I am adopting Puma's domino damsel too. So, I thought that it would be safer in the 30g.

 

[MCR]

Kim, do you have a dsb in that refugium? Just wondering about nitrate export. 30 lbs of live rock isnt much, even when dealing with 40 gals of water. The refugium will help, but I would be very weary of adding to that current bioload.

The one thing I would strongly discourage is the firefish... they are extremely shy by nature, to the point where they will stay hidden in rock and will not eat in the presence of territorial fish. The firefish should be one of the first fish introduced in a peaceful tank only. Putting one in with damsels is asking for trouble. As the damsels grow, they will become more and more aggressive. I doubt a firefish would last a week in that tank. They are nowhere near as feisty as clowns for instance.

Its great that you have introduced your daughter to sw fish at such a young age!! Start em young! lol. Good luck Kim.

 

[Bakapuma]

I now feel insignificant with my daughter's new 10 gallon nano reef setup
She will be nine years old this month. I sat her up one because of the interest she has in my 75 gal Reef set up. The exception is that she will choose the coral frags and will take care of the up keep. You teach'em and them set them free!!!!

 

[Guest]

What is dsb? I have at least 30 pounds of live rock in the main display, then I have at least another 15 pounds in the refugium.
I probably will not add anything else, if anything a blue velvet damsel. I will keep cheap fish in her tank for awhile. I have not gotten into the reef thing yet. I don't have the lighting for it. My daughter loves the fish. She even hugs and kisses the tank everynight. I am actually thinking of downgrading my tank size, just a thought.

 

[MCR]

Sorry... dsb=deep sand bed

I noticed you said you had crushed coral in the 30gal, but I wasnt sure about your fuge?

 

[Guest]

Oh, I have probably about 4-5inch sand bed in the refugium and half of the 30g is live sand too. We just poured it in on one side and the other side has crushed coral. It looks different that way!

 

[Guest]

tank

Kim, sorry I did not answer sooner. I have arag sand and lr in my smaller tank. I also have lots of corals, the hardier stuff, mostly just softies and zoas. I bought an orbits pc for it and it is wonderful. I wish my bigger tank was this easy to maintain. I do not have a fuge, but this is my next thing to add at some point.
Jen