Quantity of fish and corals

[reefkprrn]

I have recently set up a 125G tank with a 30 gallon sump and
200 lbs live rock
160 lbs live sand
GX1 protein skimmer
KSP-12000 return pump specified for 1200gal/h
Rena xP4 cantister filter

My question is what amount of livestock: fish, corals, invertebrates for a reef aquarium can this support. Is there a specific calculation that can be used.

 

[marduc]

There is no specific calculation, but you may see x inches of fish per gallon rules of thumb, those are worthless and misleading.

Just take everything slowly.. add a fish here and there, not all at once, adding too much too quickly is a surefire way to overburden the bio-filtration in your tank which is in constant balance with the nutrients in the tank. Add too much too quick, and the added nutrients (fish waste, coral slime, snail crap, whatever) will overrun the delicately balanced bacterial uptake ability and allow algea to regain an upper hand,

Make sure to research ALL candidates for addition to make sure that there are no conflicts in compatibility, and also that you can meet ALL their needs, space requirements, hiding places for everyone ect.

As you and your tank mature into your husbandry together, you will start to get to know the little clues and cues that tell you things could be getting a bit heavy on the bioload, algea could perhaps become more prominant, sand bed could start getting filmed over, or cyano outbreaks ect. These are just a couple of many little clues that tell you when your bioload is pushing its capacity. Save yourself the headache and the extra work this wil cause and go SLOW and easy.

 

[Kengaroo131]

i disagree on the rule of thumb. saltwater fish like there space. normaly a reasonable rule of thumb is 1-2 inches of fish per every 5 gallons.this can help you out in the long run by having a smaller bio load and having less stress on the fish. the more fish you put in there over the "limmit" the more streesed your fish will be. also, keep in mind that your live rock is going to take away water from your tank leaving you with less water volume. try to deduct a resonable amount of water in your head vs. the amount of live rock you have to estimate about how many fish can be held.hope this helps you out. people out there please correct me if im wrong on anything.

 

[Kengaroo131]

other than that i totaly agree with marduc. well put marduc!