Fluval 13.5 stocking

[i cant think]

For the OP, keeping clowns in pairs does make their wild behaviour more natural as in the wild these form harems of 20-30+ and the two most dominant pair up the rest remain “sexless” and don’t have the capability that a mature male has.
It isn’t a needed thing to have though - my female quite happily roams my tank alone.

 

[Parsely]

Add your fish one per couple of weeks to stretch out bioload and give your tank a chance to adjust. The most aggressive fish you decide to go with should be added last…in my case the neon dottyback. If you wish to have small inverts like sexy shrimp, don’t go with a dottyback. Mine polished off moneybag yo and wakisha my sexy shrimp pair 1 week after I added him.

Will do, thank you for all the advice. Is there anything other than the nitrites/ammonia levels I should be monitoring for the bioload?

 

[Parsely]

For the OP, keeping clowns in pairs does make their wild behaviour more natural as in the wild these form harems of 20-30+ and the two most dominant pair up the rest remain “sexless” and don’t have the capability that a mature male has.
It isn’t a needed thing to have though - my female quite happily roams my tank alone.

Good to know, if they are ok and happy solo then that opens up my stocking possibilities a lot

 

[doubleshot00]

I have a tailspot blenny, possum wrasse and cleaner shrimp in mine. But understand something first. A smaller tank is a lot harder to keep than a larger tank. Mine is a big pain in the butt. If it wasn't for my wife wanting it in her office i would have been done with it.

 

[olonmv]

Will do, thank you for all the advice. Is there anything other than the nitrites/ammonia levels I should be monitoring for the bioload?

You’re welcome. As for testing, if you’re doin fish with some inverts and no corals the main parameters to look at are temp salinity nitrates and alkalinity. If you plan on doin corals….the 4 I mention plus ph phosphates magnesium and calcium.

 

[Parsely]

I have a tailspot blenny, possum wrasse and cleaner shrimp in mine. But understand something first. A smaller tank is a lot harder to keep than a larger tank. Mine is a big pain in the butt. If it wasn't for my wife wanting it in her office i would have been done with it.

Yes I've heard this. In a smaller house right now and possibly moving in a year or two so I didn't want to commit to something big because of that

 

[Seymo44]

Ok, I was thinking the shrimp would count towards the total, but I guess his bioload is small?

His biology isn’t too bad. However, this tank has about .30 PO4 and 50 nitrates. My montipora, anacropora, and other SPS look great. The LPS are loving the elevated nutrients. I don’t really have softies, but the very few in there are happy as well. This is my only “dirty” tank, and the colors and growth rate of the corals are great.

Filtration is very simple, and not really all that effective. Chamber one has a 3d printed filter floss holder with weekly changed floss. Chamber two is a gracilaria refugium. I do a 5 gal water change and clean about half the sandbed every other week.

Edit: I have virtually no algae and tons of CUC