Sponges feed on coral mucus: Recycling waste on the reef

I have seen several articles on the benefits of sponges. They are said to be commonly found in well established/mature reefs.

I would be very interested in a good way to promote a healthy sponge colony or seed a new tank other than getting wild -harvested live rock.

I know korallen-zucht and Brightwell provides a sponge supplement (ionic silica). But like any dosing regimen, the sponge colony could collapse if you stop dosing. Plus silica will promote diatoms if your tank isn't seeded with sponges to begin with. There are also nano sponges sold by LFS, which are said not to last long. I would be leery of having one big sponge (concentrated) in my tank in case it dies which could be quite toxic.

Are sponges common like pods and feather dusters? My two month old nano tank has them from the live rock that I started with. I don't know about sponges.
 
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My tank is loaded with sponges, more different types that I can count. That's only what I can see, creepy things grow in the dark spots of my tank. I started with some rock from TBS which came filled with its own freak show. Mine grow and multiply and I add nothing to the tank for them. I just figured they are like anything else in the tank, they self regulate how many/much there needs to be.
 
troublemaker said:
My tank is loaded with sponges, more different types that I can count. That's only what I can see, creepy things grow in the dark spots of my tank. I started with some rock from TBS which came filled with its own freak show. Mine grow and multiply and I add nothing to the tank for them. I just figured they are like anything else in the tank, they self regulate how many/much there needs to be.
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That's exactly what I was hoping for. As I understand it, these small sponge varieties are found mostly on base rock. Much more robust, though a nice colorful sponge would make a nice accent to bigger tank.

Who is TBS, btw?
 
I too have a bunch of sponge growing the dark places. These are beigh-ish in color.

I did buy a beautiful blue sponge from Reefwise at least a year ago and it's doing well with no supplements.
 
Tampa bay saltwater.

I have many small sponges that do filter. But the butterfly fish i had ate most of them. The sumps loaded with them.
I guess theres some that have a sump spot with xenias to filter some also.
I was considering maybe doing a xenia location in my sump but fear they could get to the DT
 
The blue sponge is common in the trade.

There's a member here who once showed a pic of a white sponge with blue and yellow stripes and shaped like a fancy water pitcher. I tried to google it for this thread but couldn't find it anymore. This specimen was huge.
 
#theMatrix said:
Tampa bay saltwater.

I have many small sponges that do filter. But the butterfly fish i had ate most of them. The sumps loaded with them.
I guess theres some that have a sump spot with xenias to filter some also.
I was considering maybe doing a xenia location in my sump but fear they could get to the DT
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You could probably just add more live rock. A very subtle change and no potential destabilization.You could probably dose a food source to speed it along.
 
I plan to add more rock for sure. That nice dead rock. Since my systems established. Just to fill up some open soace and area for fish to hide when aggresdion arises
 
I love my sponges.
Bright green/yellow
In dt
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Black branching
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I even toss some in the sump if the ones in the DT get big
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Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
Sponges, filter feeders and all the cryptic weirdos are what make a tank established. They are all doing their jobs in little micro amounts, and all the parts eventually add up to the whole that is needed at that time. On my last tank, I had a large cryptic fuge that grew for several years in complete darkness, I believe it was the single most important nutrient eater I had in that system. I tried a 60 gallon raceway with Mangroves, pulsing Xenia and Aptasia, but I don't believe I was ever able to raise the nutrient level to support all my Fuges all the time.
 
Tell me if you want to replace some of your old sump rock. They are phosphate sinks, I hear. ; )
 
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be very careful with TBS rock...yes, they come with a ton of very interesting hitchhikers most good but some very bad...mine came with a ton of hairy gorilla crabs that took me at least a year to locate and eradicate but worse of all they came with cirolanid isopods...also, practically everything that came in on the TBS rock died not very long after - the colorful sponges, the tunicates, the barnacles...going forward if i were to start a new tank, i probably wouldn't go live rock route and instead go with just live sand or dump bottles of Dr. Tim's instead...the kind of stuff that came in on the live rock was fascinating at first but the bad outweighed the good tenfold

nowadays i do see yellow sponges and red sponges in my tank which is very nice
 
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ThePorkchopExpress said:
be very careful with TBS rock...yes, they come with a ton of very interesting hitchhikers most good but some very bad...mine came with a ton of hairy gorilla crabs that took me at least a year to locate and eradicate but worse of all they came with cirolanid isopods...also, practically everything that came in on the TBS rock died not very long after - the colorful sponges, the tunicates, the barnacles...going forward if i were to start a new tank, i probably wouldn't go live rock route and instead go with just live sand or dump bottles of Dr. Tim's instead...the kind of stuff that came in on the live rock was fascinating at first but the bad outweighed the good tenfold

I

nowadays i do see yellow sponges and red sponges in my tank which is very nice
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My kids referred to the Gorilla crabs as Bad Guy Crabs and we hunted them for about a month in an isolated tanks, they weren't an issue. The Isopods I haven't seen yet, but will definitely keep my eye out for them. As Far as the Barnacles, Sponges and Turnicates, they have multiplied in my tank. It's only 9 months old, but I have a hard time telling the TBS from the base rock I used. I guess it's just two different experiences with the same product.
 
troublemaker said:
My kids referred to the Gorilla crabs as Bad Guy Crabs and we hunted them for about a month in an isolated tanks, they weren't an issue. The Isopods I haven't seen yet, but will definitely keep my eye out for them. As Far as the Barnacles, Sponges and Turnicates, they have multiplied in my tank. It's only 9 months old, but I have a hard time telling the TBS from the base rock I used. I guess it's just two different experiences with the same product.
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Yes definitely is just my own experience. In speaking with the owner, I believe his name is Richard? He said the Isopods were seasonal. It was just really heartbreaking setting up your first tank, my wife and I getting out first clownfish pair then seeing them getting eaten alive by the Isopods. Losing fish for easier to swallow after that but that first incident will always be the hardest for me.
 
Finally found it. The specimen is a Tunicate. I read about a reefer who was running a skimmerless tank with several of these. I may be confusing my forums, but I believe that he is with ChicagoReefs.


View attachment 16385
 
troublemaker said:
I have dozens of these guys, none that nice looking.
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Dozens of ? They are breeding? Asexually, I am guessing.

That must have been you with the pics that I saw, if you ever posted them. Please tell me if you're ever selling specimens.
 
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Paulip said:
Dozens of ? They are breeding? Asexually, I am guessing.

That must have been you with the pics that I saw, if you ever posted them. Please tell me if you're ever selling specimens.
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I don't think I ever posted pictures of them, I can but they really aren't that pretty. Some are pretty big in relation to some of the rock they are on, 1 1/2" is probably the biggest. The only thing I can think of that could be keeping everything alive is all the foody son pumps into the tank for his Sun Corals. We feed very heavy, but export heavy also.
 
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