way to kill sponges, natural or manual?

[jandree22]

i have these recurring patches of white sponges on one piece of live rock, and they're beginning to spread. IMO they're an eyesore. I even took the piece of LR and scrubbed it with a toothbrush but the buggers came right back. is there any hardy critters I can throw in to eat them up? or, is there a successful method of killing them off? thanks

 

[paats]

I believe I`ve read that angel fish will clean out sponges.You don`t want to put them in a tank with corals though.If your tank is fish only you could try them.

 

[Anonymous]

They may be somewhat of an eyesore to you, but they perform a valuable function. They will remove disolved organics,esp phosphates. They usually prefer the shade so I do not really notice tham much.

 

[Johnsteph10]

Why would you want to kill sponges? They're cool to look at, low maintenace and like anenomebuff said, they really clean the water.

John

 

[jandree22]

well maybe i'll let some be. I dont mind them at all when they're like cotton balls on my LR, but they start growing those antenna thingies and then they just look kinda wierd, haha. I dont mind them really, I just fear they'll some day take over all of my LR!

As far as corals go, I got two shroom colonies but that's it.

 

[Anonymous]

if you have an excess of sponge growth, maybe you have an excess of sponge food ? :wink:

i'd suggest cutting back on the amount of food going into the system, and more frequent w/c's, and the sponge growth should slow down on it's own :wink:

hth

 

[Anonymous]

if you have an excess of sponge growth, maybe you have an excess of sponge food ? :wink:

i'd suggest cutting back on the amount of food going into the system, and more frequent w/c's, and the sponge growth should slow down on it's own :wink:

hth

That's assuming he's using RO/DI to remove the stuff that feeds them.

Plus I believe that some of the white sponges are calcareous. So they eat calcium as well.

 

[Anonymous]

if you have an excess of sponge growth, maybe you have an excess of sponge food ? :wink:

i'd suggest cutting back on the amount of food going into the system, and more frequent w/c's, and the sponge growth should slow down on it's own :wink:

hth

That's assuming he's using RO/DI to remove the stuff that feeds them.

Plus I believe that some of the white sponges are calcareous. So they eat calcium as well.

yes, they do, - prolific sponge growth would more likely be an indicator of an increase/influx of suspended organic particles in the water column as the main cause though

and i agree w/your point about the source water-that if it isn't rodi, or similiar, that it may be a contributing factor

the items that sponges feed off of are easily influenced by even the teeniest amounts of excess nutrients in the water column

 

[rabagley]

Plus I believe that some of the white sponges are calcareous. So they eat calcium as well.

You can't use color as an indicator of calcium uptake. Sponge tissue color is often quoted as being an indicator of depth (drab colors are deeper), reef safety (brighter colors are better), calcium/silica/etc. uptake, methods of reproduction, etc. However, the sponges don't seem to agree with many of these classifications. There's simply too much variety in the family porifera.

If you want to know if a particular sponge uses calcium for it's internal structure: cut a small sample of the sponge's tissue with a razor, and crush the sample between two gloved fingers. If you can feel it crack and pop, there's a 90% chance that what you're breaking are calcareous spicules. Almost none of the sponges that use silica for internal structures are found in the aquarium industry. The notable exception is the Venus flower basket, though not as popular as it once was.

In any case, I personally love sponges in my system and am aiming for a skimmerless system where the sponges in a dark sump do most of the filtration for the system ala Steve Tyree's writings and test tanks. When sponges grow in the main tank, I'm usually thrilled, though I can see why some might be worried about having an aggressive sponge encroach on corals.

As an idea for Jandree22, you may be able to look up Steve Tyree (http://www.dynamicecomorphology.com) and see if he might be interested in cuttings of your sponge. Another fast-growing aquarium surviving sponge may be quite useful for those of us trying to find more natural filters for our tanks.

Regards,
Ross

 

[jandree22]

I run a 5 stage RO/DI, 0 TDS, and I make weekly 20% water changes.

 

[rabagley]

Jandree22, this sponge, like most sponges, is most likely feeding off the same stuff that your skimmer is taking out of the water. DOM (various protein and metallic complexes), POM, etc.

If your skimmer is pulling a lot of gunk from the water, this sponge is loving life. Only difference is that instead of producing tea-colored goopy salt water, it's making sponge tissue (and trying to reproduce, from the description you give of the "antenna thingys" )

Regards,
Ross