Would this fish list be considered heavy bio load?

[eqbal9947]

I currently have these fish in a Waterbox Reef 220.6
Gem tang
naso tang
hippo tang
2X clowns
Diamond goby
Copperband
Mandarin
Midas Blenny
Long Nose Hawk
YWG
One spot foxface
and 2x shrimp
I am planning on getting a flame hawk, quoyi parrotfish, naoko wrasse, leopard wrasse and a few anthias.
I feed about 2 cubes of frozen and a sheet of nori per day. and with the new fish Id prolly feed 3 cubes per day

Im looking to get a new simplicity skimmer and dont want to go too big or too small.
Should i get the 240 or 320 simplicity skimmer

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I currently have these fish in a Waterbox Reef 220.6
Gem tang
naso tang
hippo tang
2X clowns
Diamond goby
Copperband
Mandarin
Midas Blenny
Long Nose Hawk
YWG
One spot foxface
and 2x shrimp
I am planning on getting a flame hawk, quoyi parrotfish, naoko wrasse, leopard wrasse and a few anthias.
I feed about 2 cubes of frozen and a sheet of nori per day. and with the new fish Id prolly feed 3 cubes per day

Im looking to get a new simplicity skimmer and dont want to go too big or too small.
Should i get the 240 or 320 simplicity skimmer

With bio load, fish size is everything. As a fish's length increases linearly, its mass (and bio load) goes up geometrically. The best way I can describe it is like this: you can put ten 2" tetras in a 20 gallon tank, but you cannot put one 20" catfish in the same tank, despite the "inches of fish" being the same.

It is pretty rare for a modern aquarium to be over loaded biologically in terms of harm to the fish, you typically hit a territorial limit first - in this case, where the mandarin gets out competed for food, or the tangs start fighting. In this case, if you have SPS in the tank, you may overcrowd it for them in terms of nutrients, but not the fish.

I'm also cautious when I hear somebody say, "I feed X amount of food every day". My question always is, but what if that is 10% less than the fish actually needs? Feeding a amount of food that you arbitrally set is dangerous. Reef aquarists often have a tendency to underestimate the amount of food their fish need, just to manage nutrients. You should feed multiple times a day, and let the fish tell you how much food they want (if they are still actively eating, you need to feed some more).

Jay

 

[eqbal9947]

With bio load, fish size is everything. As a fish's length increases linearly, its mass (and bio load) goes up geometrically. The best way I can describe it is like this: you can put ten 2" tetras in a 20 gallon tank, but you cannot put one 20" catfish in the same tank, despite the "inches of fish" being the same.

It is pretty rare for a modern aquarium to be over loaded biologically in terms of harm to the fish, you typically hit a territorial limit first - in this case, where the mandarin gets out competed for food, or the tangs start fighting. In this case, if you have SPS in the tank, you may overcrowd it for them in terms of nutrients, but not the fish.

I'm also cautious when I hear somebody say, "I feed X amount of food every day". My question always is, but what if that is 10% less than the fish actually needs? Feeding a amount of food that you arbitrally set is dangerous. Reef aquarists often have a tendency to underestimate the amount of food their fish need, just to manage nutrients. You should feed multiple times a day, and let the fish tell you how much food they want (if they are still actively eating, you need to feed some more).

Jay

Thanks for the thorough response.
I feed a decent amount and I used to feed double. The fish will eat no matter how much food I put in there. My tangs are beasts and will not stop. I watch them very closely and monitor their size.
Ill take into account your advice

 

[Gedxin]

You should feed multiple times a day, and let the fish tell you how much food they want (if they are still actively eating, you need to feed some more).

Jay

This is news to me. I was told/read that fish will eat themselves to death - or that as long as there's food they will keep eating. Now I'm wondering if I've got it wrong and should be feeding more (I personally feed mixed food 3 times a day.)

 

[doubleshot00]

Always go bigger on a skimmer less emptying it. I mean its a big tank but only around 150 gal. Your tangs are the ones to worry about.

 

[Bridgerdean]

So if I am to feed more do you have a great recommendation to make my own fish food?

 

[Piscans]

in a reef tank, there isnt much of a biological overload but more of a territorial overload. 3 wrasses could be a problem with that mandarin cause i assume your tank isnt very old/dirty. also the hawkfish might bully the wrasses. the parrotfish, tangs, & rabbitfish will probably scare the goby, blenny, & the mandarin. this stocking could work but there are some things to consider

 

[Piscans]

This is news to me. I was told/read that fish will eat themselves to death - or that as long as there's food they will keep eating. Now I'm wondering if I've got it wrong and should be feeding more (I personally feed mixed food 3 times a day.)

a fish could eat itself to death (theoretically) fish have very simple digestive systems & theyre always hungry unless they have problems. a fish will eat until its mouth is literally overflowing with food (read paul b's book for more on that) a good practice is to feed whole foods (frozen clam, baby brine shrimp, live algae, sponges (angelfish & such), etc etc etc) several times a day. you can feed pellets if they are soaked in fish oil first. also, you can throw pellets in the back of your tank for microfauna to eat. doing this will increase the populations of things like copepods & bristleworms (a good food source when small & scavenger when large) in my tank personally, i have only 2 fish because i am currently focused on other hobbies, but my tank is so overgrown with coral, algae, etc that there is a massive pod supply so i only feed a bit of frozen every so often.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This is news to me. I was told/read that fish will eat themselves to death - or that as long as there's food they will keep eating. Now I'm wondering if I've got it wrong and should be feeding more (I personally feed mixed food 3 times a day.)

It’s more complicated - some predators like lionfish develop fatty liver disease and die if fed too much too often, so can older fish that are no longer growing. However, these younger “grazing” fish need multiple small feedings per day. The fish themselves will tell you how much they need; if they are still actively eating the food you are adding, add some more. Then, being full, they will feed less actively the next time you feed them, so you end up putting in less food….sort of an on demand system.
Jay

 

[eqbal9947]

in a reef tank, there isnt much of a biological overload but more of a territorial overload. 3 wrasses could be a problem with that mandarin cause i assume your tank isnt very old/dirty. also the hawkfish might bully the wrasses. the parrotfish, tangs, & rabbitfish will probably scare the goby, blenny, & the mandarin. this stocking could work but there are some things to consider

Ill take that into consideration, the only fish that shows aggression is the Gem. the others are pretty good, youre right tho, things could also change.