Bioload Question

[Lukicloe]

I rarely post on nr because I generally can find the information that I need in someone else's topic or post. But, for this I am a little unsure and can't seem to find an answer. In a macro tank, how much is "more" bioload? I have read that a macro tank will benefit from more than the normal bioload. How much more?

 

I have a 29gal that is my first macro tank. (Not my first saltwater tank.) In it I have 2 baby clowns (1/2" and 1"), a cleaner shrimp, and a pair of yasha haze gobies and their pistol shrimp and about 30 dwarf ceriths (from reefcleaners). I would be more than happy to leave it at this, but if I'm reading correctly, I should add more fish/inverts?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Raelin

[bitts]

lol my non macro 29gal display is running a larger bio-load, so you could push it up a little bit. but heres the beauty of the macro tank. if you'r happy with the stocking list than feel free to feed more. its going to come down to your tanks setup. the rate of nutrient uptake by macros in relation to there production.

 

as to what you could add the biggest thing will be over lapping territory. so i would say that you will want some thing very peaceful. plus smaller is probably better. along those lines maybe

 

firefish (red, purple, helfrick)

green banded goby

midas blenny (not sure about its compatibility with the yasha but i think its ok ask the other though)

yellow watchman

cardinal

 

its probably better to be on the lower side & make up for it with food.

[Lukicloe]

Thanks for the help, bitts.

 

I do want to eventually add more fish to this tank, but I like finding something I think is neat and researching it for a while before buying (or not buying). Plus, I like the smaller gobies but I'm not all that sure how the clowns will behave as they grow. I've already had to move the cleaner shrimp into this tank as he was absolutely certain my flaming prawn gobies NEEDED to be cleaned continuously. They didn't seem to be able to (or know how?) to tell him no.

 

So for now, I should basically feed a little more than my fish will eat. Then, increase the amount as the macros grow based on their growth rate?

 

Thanks again,

 

Raelin

[bitts]

taking your time & doing the research is smart.

as to feeding. not quite more than they will eat. but but learn to control the level of nutrients produced by the fish through feeding them. most tanks are underfeed to prevent build ups in nitrates & phosphates, but in the macro tank this is what feeds the tank. if you've learned to keep the trates at 0. than the next step is to learn to bring them up & down by feeding the fish, with out losing control of them or relying on water changes. so somewhere between 0 & 5. your standard test kit wont be calibrated for this so you have to use the tank & its livestock to do this. things like lps polyp extension, redslime algae between the sand & glass, algae growth, how quickly the glass forms a film you need to scrape off, consumption of alk by denitrification, growth rate of corals, fish, & inverts, so forth. maby feed that extra pellet you've always felt guilty about not letting them have, or even adding a meal. possibly adding more phyto when you dose. just go back to basic's, after all its all just one big cycle. the better you become at manipulating & understanding the interactions. the greater your tank will respond. just remember that first cycle the tank went through only finishes if the tank crashes. you cant control it, just interact with it like any other living thing.

[keydiver]

this is some great advice bitts thanks, I was going to ask you the same question now that i have my 20 gal fuge plumbed into my bc

[Outofstock]

What I do on my macro tank to up the nutrients is when I do my water changes, I take the water from my 40 breeder reef, put that water into the macro, the macro water gets dumped and the 40 gets new water. Then again...my macro tank has a higher bioload then my reef tank to begin with. But I figured itll even itself out once the Mangroves and others grow in more.