How accurate is AqAdvisor?

[OliveFish05]

Hi! I was just wondering how accurate or trustworthy everyone thinks AqAdvisor is? Is it a reliable source of help, or no? How much, according to AqAdvisor's percentages, is it ok to overstock? Like say AqAdvisor says my stock is at, say, 130%, is that alright or would that be considered "overstocked". Just curious as I have heard AqAdvisor tends to overestimate and such, and wanted to hear people's thoughts!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I don’t trust any online stocking calculator. Some members on TFF use them, but they aren’t accurate.

I once put into AquaAdvisor (in theory) 10x Neon Tetras in a 10g tank. It said my stock was only at 80%. That is completely hocus-pocus.

What species of fish do you have in that tank and what is its volume?

 

[OliveFish05]

I don’t trust any online stocking calculator. Some members on TFF use them, but they are accurate.

I once put into AquaAdvisor (in theory) 10x Neon Tetras in a 10g tank. It said my stock was only at 80%. That is completely hocus-pocus.

Ohhhhh. Ok. That is very interesting! I would have thought that stocking wise, 10 neon tetras would be alright in that amount of water, if you had adequate filtration and a strict water change schedule, but that the problem would be with the footprint of the tank and the small amount of space it allowed for swimming and schooling?

What species of fish do you have in that tank and what is its volume?

Well I put in a 55 gallon tank with with 2 electric blue acaras, 12 bloodfin tetras, a bn pleco, and 12 Pygmy Cory Hastatus, and it said the stocking would be at 99%, then I was curious what it would say if I ”added” 8 peppered Cories to the ”tank” and it said the stocking be at 118%, but in general I just wanted to hear people’s opinions on the calculator‘s accuracy, as I thought that sounded like a whole lot of stock in that tank size

 

[Wills]

When it first started up I was dead against it but over the years it has been refined to a point where it is useful. Its just not the be all and end all but if you have a new tank and are trying to decide what you want (bit like fantasty football) you can put various options into it and see where you get to.

What you do with that information is the important bit, if you've kept fish before and you agree with what it says, you're probably ok, if you dont understand or disagree with whats been said like the Neon Tetra example above you can post on forums like this to work out if its right or not.

I supose its a bit like a sat nav, it might tell you to turn left but you can also see that left is a river. So its upto you what you do with that information

Wills

 

[Byron]

I am with Wills. There is a possible usefulness, but the real issue is that numbers and volume is only one factor in determining which/how many fish can work in "x" tank, and there are other factors actually more significant and not all of these can possibly be programmed. Bottom line is, if you want a well-balanced aquarium of healthy fish, you have to provide what the fish require/expect. Just make sure the tank is adequate to do that.

 

[OliveFish05]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions! You all make very much sense