Quantified bioload

[zman676]

Does anybody know of a place where I can find some form of quantified bioload list for common reef fish?

For example:
1 small yellow tang = ~15 gal
2 clowns = ~10 gal
1 lawmower blenny = ~10 gal
2 medium pj cardinals = ~20 gal
___________
~55 gal

I'm basically looking for a way to at least estimate how many of what kinds of fish I can put in systems of known volume. I'm sure somebody got their PhD for this research, and I was just wondering if any of you other science nerds knew where I can find it. Thanks!

~Zach

 

[ralph atl]

unfortunately you really can't do that.

first, is that 55 gallon tank? or water volume?
sump?
fuge?
what do you feed?
what skimmer? GFO? Carbon source?

if your filtration removes the amount of nutrients that you out in, your fine. but also, your tank inhabitants might not get along, they might need more space, blah, blah, blah.

 

[zman676]

so there's nothing that shows how much waste each fish puts out per size and species?

 

[ralph atl]

not that I am aware of. a 55 should handle 4-6 medium size to small fish. you have a skimmer that skims great for a 200, you jut increased your bio load. your fishes metabolism, size (overall), amount of water, live rock, sand bed, filtration all play a factor. too many variables.

 

[skriz]

It's going to be tough to gauge it like that, but you can always use live aquaria as a guide.

Certain fish need longer tanks rather than sheer volume (tangs), so using a "gallon" guide isn't the best way to ***** it. There's no easy guide here; you'll just have to research each fish you're interested in.

 

[crew]

I know gold fish put out 3 times as much waste as freshwater fish of similar size.. but thats it