How much is too much? Are there really any rules?

[mta_morrow]

Just throwing this out there for some general discussion as this topic is discussed and debated a lot it seems.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL, 108 gallon display. It’s been running for a little over a year.

I currently have 22 fish and am considering a few more open water swimmers and a coris wrasse.

While there are certainly do’s and don’ts I planned it all and made a few changes as needed.

Here is my current fish list:

Purple firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Flametail blenny
Blue chromis
One spot foxface
Coral beauty
Pink spot goby
2 wheeler gobies w a candy cane pistol shrimp
Carpenter flasher wrasse
3 zebra dart fish
2 red lined cardinal fish
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
3 azure damsels
2 ocellaris clowns

I feed them very well.

There is no fighting or issues. Only an occasional flash between the coral beauty and tomini tang.

My daily feeding routine is 2 rounds of a pellet mix, a serious amount of my own homemade live foods (oysters, mussels, clams, mysis), and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

I also have 7 anemones.

3 rock flowers
2 bubble
1 long tentacle
1 Magnifica
Plan on getting a couple mini maxi nems soon.

Lots of snails, 130-150, a tiger conch, porcelain crabs, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

Will be adding anemone shrimp and sexy shrimp too.

And a 6” deresa.

All of this obviously generates a lot of waste.

To handle that I use 2 filter socks, and aqua max cone skimmer, 6 liters of Seachem matrix in the sump, and dose 5ml of homemade NoPox daily. I also run UV 24/7.

I do a 28 gallon water change once a month and use Brightwell NeoMarine salt.

Here are my parameters which are steady as a rock:

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77-78
Alk 8
PO4 .02
NO3 5

This is my second tank and I have applied the patience and research rules to the max.

I plan on adding some SPS soon as I wanted a more mature and stable tank to help ensure success.

So, what are you thoughts on loading up a tank, or, is this even loaded?

Just a thread created for some friendly conversation and sharing views. Nothing is right or wrong here.

I’ll wrap this up with my latest video.

 

[dwest]

Just throwing this out there for some general discussion as this topic is discussed and debated a lot it seems.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL, 108 gallon display. It’s been running for a little over a year.

I currently have 23 fish and am considering a few more open water swimmers and a coris wrasse.

While there are certainly do’s and don’ts I planned it all and made a few changes as needed.

Here is my current fish list:

Purple firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Flametail blenny
Blue chromis
One spot foxface
Coral beauty
Pink spot goby
2 wheeler gobies w a candy cane pistol shrimp
Carpenter flasher wrasse
3 zebra dart fish
3 red lined cardinal fish
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
3 azure damsels
2 ocellaris clowns

I feed them very well.

There is no fighting or issues. Only an occasional flash between the coral beauty and tomini tang.

2 rounds of a pellet mix, a serious amount of my own homemade live foods (oysters, mussels, clams, mysis), and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

I also have 7 anemones.

3 rock flowers
2 bubble
1 long tentacle
1 Magnifica
Plan on getting a couple mini maxi nems soon.

Lots of snails, 130-150, a tiger conch, porcelain crabs, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

Will be adding anemone shrimp and sexy shrimp too.

And a 6” deresa.

All of this obviously generates a lot of waste.

To handle that I use 2 filter socks, and aqua max cone skimmer, and dose 9-10 ml of homemade NoPox daily. I also run UV 24/7.

I do a 28 gallon water change once a month and use Brightwell NeoMarine salt.

Here are my parameters which are steady as a rock:

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77-78
Alk 8
PO4 .06
NO3 10

This is my second tank and I have applied the patience and research rules to the max.

I plan on adding some SPS soon as I wanted a more mature and stable tank to help ensure success.

So, what are you thoughts on loading up a tank, or, is this even loaded?

Just a thread created for some friendly conversation and sharing views. Nothing is right or wrong here.

I’ll wrap this up with my latest video.

Great tank!

I wonder this sometimes myself. I am stocking my 180 more than I have done historically. I keep thinking about the times when my electricity has shut off. I have an mp 40 that will run on a battery backup for about 36 hours. After that, the way I see it, the more fish I have, the less time they have before oxygen is gone. This isn’t good as I plan to be gone more in the future. Just something to consider.

 

[James M]

Go for it !!
You mostly have small fish...so IMO you could add more

 

[mta_morrow]

Go for it !!
You mostly have small fish...so IMO you could add more

I like the way you think!

 

[Tiger Brown]

Well, that is one magnificent tank! Curious how big your sump is? I feel like a large sump allows for higher stock, but I could be off on that.

 

[mta_morrow]

Well, that is one magnificent tank! Curious how big your sump is? I feel like a large sump allows for higher stock, but I could be off on that.

It is the stock Red Sea sump. 33 gallon

 

[TK_KW]

I'm not nearly educated enough, to even give an opinion on your question. But just want to say that tank looks fantastic, and i hope my first build that I'm currently doing turns out like yours. Cheers!

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Like mentioned you have a lot of smaller fish. I say if you can keep them happy and the tank stable only you know how much your tank can handle. In the end you need to enjoy what you see.

Hope my reefer looks half as good in a year.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Just throwing this out there for some general discussion as this topic is discussed and debated a lot it seems.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL, 108 gallon display. It’s been running for a little over a year.

I currently have 23 fish and am considering a few more open water swimmers and a coris wrasse.

While there are certainly do’s and don’ts I planned it all and made a few changes as needed.

Here is my current fish list:

Purple firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Flametail blenny
Blue chromis
One spot foxface
Coral beauty
Pink spot goby
2 wheeler gobies w a candy cane pistol shrimp
Carpenter flasher wrasse
3 zebra dart fish
3 red lined cardinal fish
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
3 azure damsels
2 ocellaris clowns

I feed them very well.

There is no fighting or issues. Only an occasional flash between the coral beauty and tomini tang.

My daily feeding routine is 2 rounds of a pellet mix, a serious amount of my own homemade live foods (oysters, mussels, clams, mysis), and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

I also have 7 anemones.

3 rock flowers
2 bubble
1 long tentacle
1 Magnifica
Plan on getting a couple mini maxi nems soon.

Lots of snails, 130-150, a tiger conch, porcelain crabs, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

Will be adding anemone shrimp and sexy shrimp too.

And a 6” deresa.

All of this obviously generates a lot of waste.

To handle that I use 2 filter socks, and aqua max cone skimmer, 6 liters of Seachem matrix in the sump, and dose 9-10 ml of homemade NoPox daily. I also run UV 24/7.

I do a 28 gallon water change once a month and use Brightwell NeoMarine salt.

Here are my parameters which are steady as a rock:

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77-78
Alk 8
PO4 .06
NO3 10

This is my second tank and I have applied the patience and research rules to the max.

I plan on adding some SPS soon as I wanted a more mature and stable tank to help ensure success.

So, what are you thoughts on loading up a tank, or, is this even loaded?

Just a thread created for some friendly conversation and sharing views. Nothing is right or wrong here.

I’ll wrap this up with my latest video.

Thanks for sharing, comrade

 

[mta_morrow]

Great tank!

I wonder this sometimes myself. I am stocking my 180 more than I have done historically. I keep thinking about the times when my electricity has shut off. I have an mp 40 that will run on a battery backup for about 36 hours. After that, the way I see it, the more fish I have, the less time they have before oxygen is gone. This isn’t good as I plan to be gone more in the future. Just something to consider.

I year ya! I purposely don’t let myself worry about it. I have dual battery backup for my gyres, and a generator.

After that, I will probably have more to worry about than the tank!

 

[Justfebreezeit]

I love the small fish size selection. I bet it makes watching the tank in person a lot of fun.

Not to highjack your thread but how do the azure damsels behave? I've been thinking about adding a couple or 3

 

[RobW]

Great tank!

I wonder this sometimes myself. I am stocking my 180 more than I have done historically. I keep thinking about the times when my electricity has shut off. I have an mp 40 that will run on a battery backup for about 36 hours. After that, the way I see it, the more fish I have, the less time they have before oxygen is gone. This isn’t good as I plan to be gone more in the future. Just something to consider.

Backu

Just throwing this out there for some general discussion as this topic is discussed and debated a lot it seems.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL, 108 gallon display. It’s been running for a little over a year.

I currently have 23 fish and am considering a few more open water swimmers and a coris wrasse.

While there are certainly do’s and don’ts I planned it all and made a few changes as needed.

Here is my current fish list:

Purple firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Flametail blenny
Blue chromis
One spot foxface
Coral beauty
Pink spot goby
2 wheeler gobies w a candy cane pistol shrimp
Carpenter flasher wrasse
3 zebra dart fish
3 red lined cardinal fish
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
3 azure damsels
2 ocellaris clowns

I feed them very well.

There is no fighting or issues. Only an occasional flash between the coral beauty and tomini tang.

My daily feeding routine is 2 rounds of a pellet mix, a serious amount of my own homemade live foods (oysters, mussels, clams, mysis), and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

I also have 7 anemones.

3 rock flowers
2 bubble
1 long tentacle
1 Magnifica
Plan on getting a couple mini maxi nems soon.

Lots of snails, 130-150, a tiger conch, porcelain crabs, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

Will be adding anemone shrimp and sexy shrimp too.

And a 6” deresa.

All of this obviously generates a lot of waste.

To handle that I use 2 filter socks, and aqua max cone skimmer, 6 liters of Seachem matrix in the sump, and dose 9-10 ml of homemade NoPox daily. I also run UV 24/7.

I do a 28 gallon water change once a month and use Brightwell NeoMarine salt.

Here are my parameters which are steady as a rock:

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77-78
Alk 8
PO4 .06
NO3 10

This is my second tank and I have applied the patience and research rules to the max.

I plan on adding some SPS soon as I wanted a more mature and stable tank to help ensure success.

So, what are you thoughts on loading up a tank, or, is this even loaded?

Just a thread created for some friendly conversation and sharing views. Nothing is right or wrong here.

I’ll wrap this up with my latest video.

I sometimes wonder the same thing. I'm building a 280 right now. I like having lots of fish too. I know there comes a point where there are too many. If you are able to provide ample hiding places and room to swim in the open you can probably be successful. The way I see it is, if the tank mates are all happy and everyone is getting their proper diets and not looking stressed. Why not have a nicely stocked tank? Obviously having a large load in the tank requires great filtration and a little more diligence with water changes but i think it can be done. Especially with the technology we have available to us in the form of auto water changing, dosing, auto top off, skimming, bio filtration, etc. I think it is possible to achieve more than before. I mean, I'm no expert and still consider taking advice from knowledgeable people that know what they're doing. I wont willy nilly dive into trying make my tank crash that's for sure.

 

[ca1ore]

I’ve always skewed to the overstocked tank. I think as long as you have the right nutrient export mechanisms and adequate swimming space, you’ll be fine. Heck, I have 120 fish in my 400.

 

[RobW]

I’ve always skewed to the overstocked tank. I think as long as you have the right nutrient export mechanisms and adequate swimming space, you’ll be fine. Heck, I have 120 fish in my 400.

Holy cow!

 

[RobW]

I’ve always skewed to the overstocked tank. I think as long as you have the right nutrient export mechanisms and adequate swimming space, you’ll be fine. Heck, I have 120 fish in my 400.

I'll be running all bashsea equipment for filtration. I am outfitting the sump with the largest skimmer and bio-reactor that I can fit in the sump. Both models are rated for more than my volume for sure. I will be running the signature series 60" sump which is roughly 60-65 gallons. The 8-30 model skimmer is rated for 320 gallons heavily stocked and almost 700 gallons lightly stocked requiring between 1800-2600 GPH of flow. The 8-30 bio-reactor should be more than efficient for my biological filtration needs.

 

[reefologist55]

You are one of the lucky few that has a tank that has reached stability and full maturity. I really wouldn't take a risk of adding much mobile over because it could tip the scale and things may start changing which may cause you to chase numbers. If it's one or two small fishes that's fine but I already think you have a huge bio load as is.I'm shocked that you could keep levels low and stable with only monthly water changes with that much fish

 

[RobW]

You are one of the lucky few that has a tank that has reached stability and full maturity. I really wouldn't take a risk of adding much mobile over because it could tip the scale and things may start changing which may cause you to chase numbers. If it's one or two small fishes that's fine but I already think you have a huge bio load as is.I'm shocked that you could keep levels low and stable with only monthly water changes with that much fish

I wasnt looking to stick quite that many fish in my tank. But maybe somewhere around 25-35 in a 280 gallon display.

 

[RobW]

I guess species and sizes have a lot to do with it too, right?

 

[RobW]

Just throwing this out there for some general discussion as this topic is discussed and debated a lot it seems.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525 XL, 108 gallon display. It’s been running for a little over a year.

I currently have 23 fish and am considering a few more open water swimmers and a coris wrasse.

While there are certainly do’s and don’ts I planned it all and made a few changes as needed.

Here is my current fish list:

Purple firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Flametail blenny
Blue chromis
One spot foxface
Coral beauty
Pink spot goby
2 wheeler gobies w a candy cane pistol shrimp
Carpenter flasher wrasse
3 zebra dart fish
3 red lined cardinal fish
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
3 azure damsels
2 ocellaris clowns

I feed them very well.

There is no fighting or issues. Only an occasional flash between the coral beauty and tomini tang.

My daily feeding routine is 2 rounds of a pellet mix, a serious amount of my own homemade live foods (oysters, mussels, clams, mysis), and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

I also have 7 anemones.

3 rock flowers
2 bubble
1 long tentacle
1 Magnifica
Plan on getting a couple mini maxi nems soon.

Lots of snails, 130-150, a tiger conch, porcelain crabs, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

Will be adding anemone shrimp and sexy shrimp too.

And a 6” deresa.

All of this obviously generates a lot of waste.

To handle that I use 2 filter socks, and aqua max cone skimmer, 6 liters of Seachem matrix in the sump, and dose 9-10 ml of homemade NoPox daily. I also run UV 24/7.

I do a 28 gallon water change once a month and use Brightwell NeoMarine salt.

Here are my parameters which are steady as a rock:

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77-78
Alk 8
PO4 .06
NO3 10

This is my second tank and I have applied the patience and research rules to the max.

I plan on adding some SPS soon as I wanted a more mature and stable tank to help ensure success.

So, what are you thoughts on loading up a tank, or, is this even loaded?

Just a thread created for some friendly conversation and sharing views. Nothing is right or wrong here.

I’ll wrap this up with my latest video.

Awesome looking tank! Quick question, is it true that different species of anemones in the same tank can harm each other or did I read that wrong somewhere?

 

[mta_morrow]

I'm not nearly educated enough, to even give an opinion on your question. But just want to say that tank looks fantastic, and i hope my first build that I'm currently doing turns out like yours. Cheers!

Thanks for the kind words TK_KW.

I only started Reefing in 2015. I started with an AIO. it had serious ups and downs but ended up OK. When I moved and shut that one down, I had a much better understanding of a lot of things.

My key takeaways were PATIENCE, and a lot of research and discussions prior to making decisions.