Aqadvisor makes me smile

[Mr Gumby]

As a general statement I quite like Aqadvisor, it gives a decent guide on temps, water parameters etc for new fish keepers

Out of curiosity I had a quick look what it thought of me moving my 8 chili rasbora into my new 15 gallon tank.

Now I know it doesn't account for plants but when it said I am 46% stocked I did have to double take.

Taking that statement to it's logical conclusion 16 to 17 chili rasbora would max out a 15 gallon tank!....really? 

 

[Lennie]

I don't know how it works in detail but from my previous tries I have noticed that the percentage calculation works a bit different than you assumed actually! To give it a try after you have mentioned that, I checked it for 15g without any filter selected, it shows 28 chili rasboras for 100% stocking level meanwhile it shows 46% for 8 chilis as you said. So it def have changing ratios of calculation based on each addition you make to the tank. Like it shows 36% stocking level for 10 pygmy cories in a 29 gallon tank, but 47 pygmys for stocking level 100% 😄

It sounds more accurate to calculate based on the overall stocking plans I guess.🙃

[Mr Gumby]

On 1/11/2023 at 8:10 PM, Lennie said:

I don't know how it works in detail but from my previous tries I have noticed that the percentage calculation works a bit different than you assumed actually! To give it a try after you have mentioned that, I checked it for 15g without any filter selected, it shows 28 chili rasboras for 100% stocking level meanwhile it shows 46% for 8 chilis as you said. So it def have changing ratios of calculation based on each addition you make to the tank. Like it shows 36% stocking level for 10 pygmy cories in a 29 gallon tank, but 47 pygmys for stocking level 100% 😄

It sounds more accurate to calculate based on the overall stocking plans I guess.🙃

Bizarre, so my plan of species only breeding tank has a lower stock level than a community tank....I think whoever built the database may have overlooked something there 🙂

[mynameisnobody]

The problem is that it doesn’t factor in plants, so it’s mathematically inaccurate. It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole calculation. 

[Rube_Goldfish]

I think it's useful for beginners, who don't have any frame of reference and also often have a tendency to want to both overstock a tank and put incompatible fish in it. I also still use it to double-check things like temperature and parameter compatibility. Like any tool, it's all in how you use it, but it's nice to hedge against overlooking something.

[Schuyler]

It's probably accounting for more than just bioload. Maybe there is an initial bioload because you should have a certain school size but then it goes down after that school size is reached. Like how a lot of people will give a rule of thumb of six tetras in ten gallons and then one more per gallon after that.

There also isn't a good way to account for plants. They are so variable. For instance, a plant in a low energy tank with no CO2 and low lights will have less impact than the same plant in a high energy setup.

[Flumpweesel]

It always tells me I need to add more filtration.  I think it's sponsored by Fluval.😛