Help -- Overstocked

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schapman1886

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Sep 24, 2010
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So how DO you guys figure your stock?

My tank stock as it is now is, and will eventually be in my 36gal bowfront:

1 Plakat Male betta,
8 Rasboras (3 in main tank, 5 in QT)
10 Glowlight Tetras
4 Otos (in QT)

I still wanted to add a single or pair of Bolivian Rams, would this still be resonable or no? My gut tell me no, but I'm no expert.
Scrath one of the new Rasbora... I just killed one when I was doing a water change on the QT tank with the siphon tube. :angryfire: I looked away for TWO seconds!
 

Hunt

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Mar 12, 2012
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Highland, Indiana
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Jim Natelborg
I have a 75 gallon tank that I think is stocked to the max or beyond.I have 80 fish but they are all little fish except for 4 black tetras,10 nerite snails,17 amano shrimp,and scores of cherry shrimp.(they keep multiplying) I have lots of plants with co2 injection,and I do a 30% water change once a week. Other than a slight algae problem the tank is doing great!
 

red devil

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Jan 7, 2003
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Make sure you don't overfeed your fish. That is one of the biggest mistakes people make and can have the most adverse effect on bioload. The plants that you have in the tank could be giving you a big hand also in taking care of the fish. You have a nice roommate...most of the roommates I have had in the past...my biggest concern about them taking care of my fish was that they would use a frying pan and butter to do so!:crazy:

Make sure this summer that the water temp stays down as close to the ideal range as possible. Once water gets up in the upper 70's F and above it will hold less oxygen and the fish will suffer. That is actually the biggest problem with a tank that is stocked "at capacity". While it greatly enhances the viewers pleasure - and maybe even the fish's, to some extent, you really have to stay on top of maintenance - there is less margin for error.
 

constevens

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Sep 7, 2011
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Conway
I don't always agree that more filtration = better for heavily stocked tanks.

adding more filtration to a tank that is adequately filtered will not really help much since it will not remove waste but store it in the filtration housing.
doing more water changes will actually have more impact on water condition.
While I understand what your saying as far as MECHANICAL filtration, BIO filtration is different. This is where you can never have to much filtration. Also with greater water flow comes more O2 exchange into the water. So more filtration does make more difference there to.

In the case of the mechanical part cleaning the filter media will remove the waste the filter traps. Even with my Multi tank syndrome issue I clean up my filters every other day for this.
 

JamieMonster

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Mar 16, 2012
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If it won't get in the way of the filter's impeller, fill one of your filter boxes with filter sponges at the bottom (coarse, then fine), and then a pack of bio rings at the top to build up some bio filtration- don't pack it so tight that it restricts water flow, though. Use the other one with disposable cartridges, if you want... or you could do it that way with both (keep some carbon cartridges on hand, in case you need to remove any chemicals from the water- spilled cleaners, medicines, etc). Rinse the sponges in tank water with your weekly water change- just stick them in the bucket, swish them around, and give them a few good squeezes. (put bio rings in the tank while you rinse out the filter boxes and sponges so they don't dry out- tank water only. No chlorinated tap water). Replace sponges as they become too dirty, or damaged. This will give you more biological filtration to handle the increased bio-load than the disposable cartridges alone, as you won't be throwing your colonies away every month, and there will be more material there to colonize. Get an air pump and a bubble wall, or large air stone, for the tank to add more air, make sure you don't go nuts with feeding, and you should be ok!
 
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