Ratio of Volume to Biomass

[Potts050]

feedback anyone?

 

[Potts050]

There has to be a few people who have thought about this.....

 

[zennzzo]

Most of my scientific calculations went to the wayside when I started to apply the science...

You can do all the calcs you want but when it comes right down to it, it goes something like this...

Obtain the largest body of water you can possibly fit into a desired spot, don't get comfortable yet, it is only half as big as you'll wind up within months....

then...

Build/buy/trade the biggest Bio/mech filter you can imagine and cycle the body of water...

now, if you did your homework, you'll only need to double the filtration, because you have seriously overstocked this body of water...

and that's because in the back of your mind you know there is no end in sight...just keep building bigger filters, so you can keep bigger/more fish, which means you have to build bigger filters, so you can keep more fish, etc..etc...etc...

Look in the search for filters/bio-loads/...you'll see what I mean...

 

[Potts050]

Most of my scientific calculations went to the wayside when I started to apply the science...

You can do all the calcs you want but when it comes right down to it, it goes something like this...

Obtain the largest body of water you can possibly fit into a desired spot, don't get comfortable yet, it is only half as big as you'll wind up within months....

then...

Build/buy/trade the biggest Bio/mech filter you can imagine and cycle the body of water...

now, if you did your homework, you'll only need to double the filtration, because you have seriously overstocked this body of water...

and that's because in the back of your mind you know there is no end in sight...just keep building bigger filters, so you can keep bigger/more fish, which means you have to build bigger filters, so you can keep more fish, etc..etc...etc...

Look in the search for filters/bio-loads/...you'll see what I mean...

Still not to be discouraged from trying to put boundaries on this, is anyone willing to offer what the volume of their biofilters are and the estimated mass of their fish stock?

 

[abortedsoul]

I have 2 gallons of Bioballs on a 135 gallon body of water with 2 6" Reticulated River Rays and one 10" Arowana. I haven't weighed my fish, but they all produce an incredible amount of ammonia and the Aro is a nasty messy eater. I've never had even the faintest hint of an ammonia spike, and when I first got them all in the tank I fed them like crazy and tested often.

Hope it helps; if there is anything else I can help with, short of flopping them on a scale, let me know.

 

[cassharper]

No argument Neo, there can be no hard and fast rule. There are simply too many variables including but not limited to;

Temperature
pH
The amount of available carbon for BB (kH)
Dissolved oxygen
Micronutrients (gH)
Plant metabolic activity
Light regime
Biodiversity
Food conversion rates
Waste nitrogen percentage in food
Media surface area and surface area to volume ratio
Flow rates
Turn over ratio
Plumbing arrangement (series or parallel/redundant filtration)
Drip systems
Chemical additions (meds, salts, and fertilizers)
Filtration equipment maintenance schedule
Media permeabilty and porosity
Oxygen levels in the media
Presence of dead spots in the tank
Scavenger activity
Disease or fish mortality, and
Driftwood and dead plant material.

All of the other daunting variables aside, I think trying to find Ratio of fish volume to surface area of media would be much more exact.

just my .02

 

[zennzzo]

Still not to be discouraged from trying to put boundaries on this, is anyone willing to offer what the volume of their biofilters are and the estimated mass of their fish stock?

OK see if this helps you out...

1x 14" Common Pleco
3 x 12" Silver Arowana
3 x 2" NTT Dats
2 x 5" RTC x TSN
1 x 5" ID Shark
1 x 5" Lima SN
1 x 4" RTC
1 x 4" Synodontis
120g
1" black sand substrate vac'd weekly
2 x .75" overflows
1 x 1" return
17 gallons plastic scrubbies (530pcs.)
700 gph
Zero-Ammonia
Zero-NitrIte
<40ppm-NitrAte w/weekly water changes of 33-50% based on sand vac requirments...