I am constantly wanting to add a school of smaller fish to my tank, but I am paranoid I will become over stocked.
I have, well my sig displays my current stock in my 30 gal, where I wanted to add 10 or so Tetras of some sort (Probably cardinal)
I would have gone out and bought said fish already, if I didn't feel like I was over stocked.
With the number of bottom feeders I have, (5 Panda corys, 3 BNP (All under 3 in) I feel like I'm not AT capacity per say, I'm sure I could add a few more, but I feel like I'm nearing capacity and that there isn't enough room to add a school of tetras.
If I go by the 1 inch per gallon rule I'm in for a run of bad luck, as with just my Pearl Gourami and my Plecos I'm at about 20 gallons. (When they reach adult sizes, all are still under 3 inches at this point)
So I'm not a fan of that rule.
So is there a better/more accepted rule of judging tank capacity?
I'm a math/science person myself, and so I wish there was a way to put an actual, solid numerical value to the bio load each species produces; such as a BNP could be a 3.5 on a scale to who knows what and a 30 gallon tank with a 30 gallon max filter could support say 30 on a scale so a BNP would count for 3.5 on that scale (And once you had reached 30 or so on the scale your tank could be considered fully stocked) . That would be nice.. but for whoever did it it would be a lot of work.... I wonder how one would go about actually determining such a value
Anyways, I know this is a big debate between people but I was just curious if there was a different guideline I was unfamiliar with or if people just eyeballed their tank and judged if it was stocked (As mine is it doesn't look very well stocked.. I glanced at my tank just now and saw a single Platy in the whole tank)
Also; would people rate my tank as fully stocked? I'm mainly asking because I would love a school, but I feel like thats pushing the limit.
How do you judge when your tank is stocked?
I have, well my sig displays my current stock in my 30 gal, where I wanted to add 10 or so Tetras of some sort (Probably cardinal)
I would have gone out and bought said fish already, if I didn't feel like I was over stocked.
With the number of bottom feeders I have, (5 Panda corys, 3 BNP (All under 3 in) I feel like I'm not AT capacity per say, I'm sure I could add a few more, but I feel like I'm nearing capacity and that there isn't enough room to add a school of tetras.
If I go by the 1 inch per gallon rule I'm in for a run of bad luck, as with just my Pearl Gourami and my Plecos I'm at about 20 gallons. (When they reach adult sizes, all are still under 3 inches at this point)
So I'm not a fan of that rule.
So is there a better/more accepted rule of judging tank capacity?
I'm a math/science person myself, and so I wish there was a way to put an actual, solid numerical value to the bio load each species produces; such as a BNP could be a 3.5 on a scale to who knows what and a 30 gallon tank with a 30 gallon max filter could support say 30 on a scale so a BNP would count for 3.5 on that scale (And once you had reached 30 or so on the scale your tank could be considered fully stocked) . That would be nice.. but for whoever did it it would be a lot of work.... I wonder how one would go about actually determining such a value
Anyways, I know this is a big debate between people but I was just curious if there was a different guideline I was unfamiliar with or if people just eyeballed their tank and judged if it was stocked (As mine is it doesn't look very well stocked.. I glanced at my tank just now and saw a single Platy in the whole tank)
Also; would people rate my tank as fully stocked?
I'm mainly asking because I would love a school, but I feel like thats pushing the limit. How do you judge when your tank is stocked?
) and keep up weekly water changes. Filter is cleaned every few months (external) and internals are cleaned every week or second week. Right now I have a 200L with one angel, female betta and 4 khulis...I think I'm safe for now 
