Best way to get rid of sponge gone wild...

[hllb]

Perhaps you could cover it with something like F-aiptasia?

 

[Billdogg]

What about taking the rock with growth on it and do an H2O2 dip for 15-20mins?

That will almost certainly get rid of it for you. It will also kill everything else on that rock, so I'd advise against that if possible.

 

[Robert Binz]

Having the same issue. This white sponge is a menace

 

[kris2001]

That will almost certainly get rid of it for you. It will also kill everything else on that rock, so I'd advise against that if possible.

Hi , I have a Zoa rock with stringy sponge that's smothering them. Is there a h202 to sw safe ratio I can use to dip for few mins that'd kill sponge and not Zoa? Pic attached
Tia

 

[Robert Binz]

Hi , I have a Zoa rock with stringy sponge that's smothering them. Is there a h202 to sw safe ratio I can use to dip for few mins that'd kill sponge and not Zoa? Pic attached
Tia

I frequently dip Zoas in 3% H2O2 without mixing any salt water into it.

I’d be more concerned about the loss of bacteria than the zoas

 

[William Morris]

I had a off white sponge grow over corals and was invasive. I injected it with hydrogen peroxide and it died within a day. I used 35% food grade H2O2. Injected in 5 different places 2 ml per site. Good Luck.

Did you inject the HP while the sponge was in the tank?

In looking for 35% food grade H202 on-line it appears that it has to be diluted to 7.99% to ship it.
Will that still work or do I need to hunt it down in a store front?

 

[kris2001]

I frequently dip Zoas in 3% H2O2 without mixing any salt water into it.

It's a small rock so not worried about bacteria. How long do you dip zoa in H2O2? I'll try to see if it's killing the sponge. Tia

I’d be more concerned about the loss of bacteria than the zoas

 

[William Morris]

Interesting read on why sponges are not the best thing to have in a reef tank where corals are the main focus.

 

[Hersheyb]

h2o2 always worked for me.

 

[William Morris]

h2o2 always worked for me.

What concentration did you use?

 

[Hersheyb]

What concentration did you use?

standard 3%. This is what I do... I turn off all the pumps get a syringe and fill it up with h2o2, and squirted to area slowly until you see bubbles coming off the area. Let the h2o2 fizzle that area until it stops and you can turn the pumps back on. This will also take care of bubble algae. Sometimes it will take 2-3 doses, just come back next day and do it again. I know some ppl have said that there's a limit of how many ml you can use per gallon... but h2o2 dissolves fairly quick, and it doesn't take too much h2o2 to get a small area to fizzle, just don't go crazy.. I usually do small amounts no more than 15ml -30ml per treatment.

 

[homer1475]

Interesting read on why sponges are not the best thing to have in a reef tank where corals are the main focus.

What I basically took away from this article.......

If your into growing, fragging, and selling corals, you probably don't want any sponge around. If you want a full healthy ecosystem and aren't worried too much about getting maxiumum growth so yuo can frag and sell that 1/4" nub, most sponges are a good thing.

Why is everything geared to chopping up and selling corals these days? Can't we just have an ecosystem and enjoy it? Some of us grow corals for enjoyment, not for monetary value.

 

[Hersheyb]

I personally just let the tank grow and go as it likes, but if something like a sponge starts to grown on my corals and affect it's growth that's when I step in. I mean if a fish knocked off a coral onto another coral wouldn't you step in and do something about it?

 

[Ardeus]

I accidentally killed an invasive grey sponge that was killing zoas when I was treating the tank for cyano with azythromicine.

 

[AdamD76]

Micro bubbling worked for me. I had a sponge start killing my torch by overgrowing it. I added an air stone under the return pump for a couple of hours a day for a week and the sponge slowly died.

 

[D4jack]

If you kill it all at the same time you risk poisoning your tank. Try running a silicate reducer. (Phosban) or something similar to keep it in check. Most Sponges need silicates to survive. Some reefers actually dose silicates to promote sponge growth.

 

[William Morris]

standard 3%. This is what I do... I turn off all the pumps get a syringe and fill it up with h2o2, and squirted to area slowly until you see bubbles coming off the area. Let the h2o2 fizzle that area until it stops and you can turn the pumps back on. This will also take care of bubble algae. Sometimes it will take 2-3 doses, just come back next day and do it again. I know some ppl have said that there's a limit of how many ml you can use per gallon... but h2o2 dissolves fairly quick, and it doesn't take too much h2o2 to get a small area to fizzle, just don't go crazy.. I usually do small amounts no more than 15ml -30ml per treatment.

Thanks for the details.
Does the dosing affect the other parameters in the tank?

 

[kris2001]

I wanna dip my Zoa rock in sw and h202 mix... What ratio is best to start with? I'm thinking 3 :1 sw to h202...

That won't kill zoa right? For like 20 min dipping time?

 

[Hersheyb]

Thanks for the details.
Does the dosing affect the other parameters in the tank?

I haven't seen any ill effect in the tank or parameter change... orp does go up momentarily. Zoas do tend to close when h2o2 is present but it opens back up shortly. Try to no blast h2o2 around ur fish might burn their gills

 

[fryman]

I wanna dip my Zoa rock in sw and h202 mix... What ratio is best to start with? I'm thinking 3 :1 sw to h202...

That won't kill zoa right? For like 20 min dipping time?

20 min might kill your zoas. Why so long?

I've done 100% h2o2 for like 2 min, and most zoas do fine while gha melts. Some zoas are more sensitive