Bioload Question

[Kelley]

Tank bioload interesting concept
I know this is a somewhat common question, but I am looking for a
little more detail if possible. We have all heard of ratios of inches
of fish per gallon, for example 1 inch per 5 gallons of water.
Obviously there are many factors that affect this, I won't get into
those. My question relates more to the cleanup crew. To keep things
simple, let's assume we have 2 tanks. Both are 10 gallons, 20 lbs live
sand, 13 lbs live rock, with a 2-inch fish. One tank has a cleanup
crew of say 1 snail per gallon (10 snails) and 1 crab per 2 gallons (5
crabs) and 1 cleaner shrimp. The other tank does not have a cleanup
crew. In my mind, it seems that the tank with the cleanup crew would
have a greater bioload. However, if the cleanup crew is doing its job,
does the tank with the cleanup crew actually have a reduced bioload?
Besides possible starvation of a cleanup crew, is it possible to have
too much of a cleanup crew? Corals are also living, what is their
impact on the bioload? Finally, what about critters like Urchins,
would they be included with the cleanup crew when it comes to bioload
rules of thumb or would they be part of the inches of fish per gallon
rules of thumb?

All responses are greatly appreciated!

Kelley

[Matthew A.]

Bioload is the sum of all process's both chemically and physically in which
living organisms place a demand upon a closed or semi-closed enviroment that
is required to keep them alive. Since the demands placed upon each system
varies with the types of organisms, the size of the organisms in relation to
their enviroment as well as the number of organisms and the population
ratio's between the other organisms that also share the enviroment, there
really isn't any one answer to your question. You can have 100 small snails
in a 10 gallon tank if certain parameters are maintained. However, you
couldn't have 100 large snails kept in a 10 gallon tank under the same
parameters that worked for the 100 small snails. Yet, this is the same the
other way around. You can have 100 large snails in 10 gallon tank if certain
parameters are maintained. However, you also couldn't keep 100 small snails
in a 10 gallon tank under the same parameters as the 100 large snails.
Something would have to change. Not enough snail to go around and you might
end up with too much algae. A balance is going to be attempted. If the
balance falls outside what the enviroment/system can buffer, then the
enviroment crashes and a new enviroment maybe able to be established. ect
ect ect.
"Kelley" > wrote in message
om...
> Tank bioload interesting concept
> I know this is a somewhat common question, but I am looking for a
> little more detail if possible. We have all heard of ratios of inches
> of fish per gallon, for example 1 inch per 5 gallons of water.
> Obviously there are many factors that affect this, I won't get into
> those. My question relates more to the cleanup crew. To keep things
> simple, let's assume we have 2 tanks. Both are 10 gallons, 20 lbs live
> sand, 13 lbs live rock, with a 2-inch fish. One tank has a cleanup
> crew of say 1 snail per gallon (10 snails) and 1 crab per 2 gallons (5
> crabs) and 1 cleaner shrimp. The other tank does not have a cleanup
> crew. In my mind, it seems that the tank with the cleanup crew would
> have a greater bioload. However, if the cleanup crew is doing its job,
> does the tank with the cleanup crew actually have a reduced bioload?
> Besides possible starvation of a cleanup crew, is it possible to have
> too much of a cleanup crew? Corals are also living, what is their
> impact on the bioload? Finally, what about critters like Urchins,
> would they be included with the cleanup crew when it comes to bioload
> rules of thumb or would they be part of the inches of fish per gallon
> rules of thumb?
>
> All responses are greatly appreciated!
>
> Kelley