Anyone Know The Formula?

[5teady_2012]

Can someone please tell me the formula to work out how to know how many fish you can put in your tank..

I know you can roughly fit 24 (about a inch long type of fish) fish in a 24 x 12 x15 but what i want to know is... whats the formula..

Thanks

 

[Matty P]

It is not really that accurate because some fish produce more waste than others so that is an important factor as well as size.

 

[5teady_2012]

yeah that i understand, i was just wanting to know the formula thats all, my LFS didnt even know so i thought someone on here might be able to answer it

 

[Matty P]

[URL="http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/calculators.php?calc=stocking"]http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/calculators.php?calc=stocking[/URL]

 

[5teady_2012]

Well none of my tanks are overstocked going by that, thanks

That still does not answer what i need to know though, whats the formula lol.

 

[Tolak]

There is no formula, stocking a tank is just as much art as science. A general guideline for beginners is one inch of slim bodied fish that grows to no larger than three inches per gallon of water. This is taking the adult fish size into account, and does not take into account aggression, or territories needed for aggressive fish.

 

[5teady_2012]

So these calculators that work out a 24 x 12 x 15 will hold 27 fish does not have a formula?

it must have something like, 12" x 24" = 288 - then something has to be done with the 288 to get the number 27 surely, i thought maybe it was the square root, but it does not work out right so its not that..

All im wondering is how the caculators work it out to 27 on that particular tank, surely someone must know.

 

[Tolak]

24x12x15 divided by 160 will give you 27. Anyone with some computer knowledge can write a program like that, it doesn't mean that the stocking is correct. Stocking is much more than a formula, it takes some hands on experience, as well as knowledge about the particular species you plan on keeping.

I would not base my stocking on a formula or computer program, it leaves out way too many variables.

 

[shroob]

I wish no one had come up with that 'inch per gallon rule', its more trouble than what its worth.

 

[andywg]

I wish no one had come up with that 'inch per gallon rule', its more trouble than what its worth.

As a quick guide to someone who is new and trying to get an idea of how many fish to stock with intially it is a great tool.

It's only a problem because people take it to be a hard and fast rule. Most of my tanks are stocked at around 2" per gallon. As tanks get larger you can easily bend it.

 

[pirate monkey]

Can someone please tell me the formula to work out how to know how many fish you can put in your tank..

I know you can roughly fit 24 (about a inch long type of fish) fish in a 24 x 12 x15 but what i want to know is... whats the formula..

Thanks

I came across this formula before:

inches of fish = surface area of tank in inches/ 12

so if tank surface area = 24 x 12 then you can have 24" of fish according to this.

Was that what you were after?

 

[5teady_2012]

Can someone please tell me the formula to work out how to know how many fish you can put in your tank..

I know you can roughly fit 24 (about a inch long type of fish) fish in a 24 x 12 x15 but what i want to know is... whats the formula..

Thanks

I came across this formula before:

inches of fish = surface area of tank in inches/ 12

so if tank surface area = 24 x 12 then you can have 24" of fish according to this.

Was that what you were after?

Not really, all i wanted to know is how the formula works (how the fish calculators do it)

24 x 12 x = 288" of surface area, then what is done for them to come up with 27 fish as a guide? thats all im wanting to know..

288 must be divided by something for them to get the number 27, only number to divide by to that is 11, so where is the 11 coming from or what is the meaning and purpose of this particular number in refrence with the tank.

 

[Tolak]

Surface area is just one aspect, is the tank 6" deep, or 20" deep?

For a rough estimate, that would apply to many but certainly not all situations, figure 200 cubic inches of water per inch of fish 3" or less in size, 400 cubic inches per inch of 3" to 6" fish, 800 cubic inches per inch of fish that is 6" to 10", 1.600 cubic inches of water per inch of 10" to 14". For fish larger than that you had better know more than a computer program. This does not take into account filtration, compatability, or levels of the tank occupied by different fish.

 

[Piscator]

5teady,

The other people are correct in that there is no "magic formula" for calculating how many fish you can have in a given volume of water. I understand that you want to know how the Fish Calculators do it, but they are not at all reliable. One has to take into consideration:

[1] Volume of water in the tank.
[2] Amount of filtration.
[3] Quality level of filtration.
[4] Surface area of the water.
[5] How "messy" the fish are.
[6] The size of the fish as adults.
[7] How much territory each fish needs.
[8] What strata the fish occupy in the water column.
[9] How active the fish are. Etc... etc... etc... etc...

Forget about what formula's are used for these online calculators.

 

[rdd1952]

Unfortunately, I don't think the fish calculators take everything into consideration. I used the one on some site and it gave me some ridiculous stocking scheme for my 75 gallon tank. I don't think they really take compatibility into consideration and that is a major issue. I wouldn't ever trust them.

As mentioned, the 1" per gallon guide is a great starting point. If you stock to that and have normal maintanence, you shouldn't have any major issues related to high ammonia and nitrate. It can easily be exceeded once you are comfortable with your tanks and know what to look for.