Gorgonians and sponges in macro tank

[ClownWrangler]

I have been coming across a lot of cool sponges and gorgonians (photosynthetic and non-photosynthic while shopping for macro algae. I understand they do best in established "dirty" tanks, but will they do well in a macro-tank where the only food source will be from direct feeding/dosing, Also, do sponges have to have live plankton, or will a filter feeder food like Kents microvert suffice? I'm interested in various purple feather/ruffle gorgonians and various red, blue and orange sponges.

 

[dennis romano]

First of all, I know very little about macro algae, just what I read on this site. I do have a lot of sponges and gorgs. Your tank is a cool idea that I have contemplated. The possible problem is lighting. Sponges and NPS gorgs do not do well with moderate to high lighting. Algae tends to grow on them and this smothers them. Start with Caribbean photosynthetic gorgs. They are a lot easier, requiring moderate light and fine food a couple times a week. As for sponges, they vary in care level. The yellow ball sponges are relatively easy while tree sponges are very difficult. Ball sponges do well with fine food and stirring up the substrate several times a week.

 

[anemonesaur]

I do believe directly feeding them will keep them very happy & healthy, and like all things in our reefs nutritional variety is very important so live plankton, filter-feeder foods, and just like @dennis romano mentioned, stirring up the substrate will release plenty of bacteria and "stuff" into the water column that the sponge or gorgonians will gobble up.