Ideas for my macroalgae tank, sponges? Possible coral ideas?

[WilliamH2529]

Hey guys so let me give the quick run down, Ive recently become fascinated with mantis shrimp but I do lack the space for any large mantis shrimp so my lfs said they could either get me in lime mantis shrimp or purple spot mantis shrimp, and so to accommodate this I’m setting up a 5.5 gallon tank, it’ll have a micro canister filter a 25 watt cobalt heater, no protein skimmer, and a fluval marine nano light. I’m planning to make it a macro algae tank since I have my nano reef so I’d be interested in having more of a beach aesthetic/white light aesthetic than a reef aesthetic. So I suppose my big question is are there any easy or low maintenance corals which might go well with the macro algae? Or any sponges which might go well? They’d also need to be able to cohabitate with a smaller mantis shrimp species who I’m sure will rearrange this tank to it’s own desires.

 

[Jekyl]

@Eagle_Steve would probably know some good ideas for you.

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

@Tigahboy

 

[Klyle]

My 2 clownfish have decided to kill each other so I had to separate them. I am now contemplating the same motif, except in a 40g IM Nuvo. I would imagine any corals would be fine, assuming the correct par and flow. Idk how much par the macros need but it's probably in line with softies and lps corals. That's what I'm going with anyways

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@WheatToast and @sixty_reefer might have some ideas too.

I know sponges and macroalgae generally go well together, but I’m not sure what would work in a tank that small. You might be able to do a ball sponge, Elephant Ear sponge, tree sponge, or - depending on your vision for the tank - you could potentially get an encrusting sponge to cover some rock. My main concern would be how to feed an NPS sponge without fouling up the water in a tank that small. I’d suggest a photosynthetic sponge, but, in a tank that small, I don’t know that it would be low maintenance.

For corals - based off the natural environments that are sponge/macroalgae dominant - softies are probably a good choice.

 

[WilliamH2529]

@WheatToast and @sixty_reefer might have some ideas too.

I know sponges and macroalgae generally go well together, but I’m not sure what would work in a tank that small. You might be able to do a ball sponge, Elephant Ear sponge, tree sponge, or - depending on your vision for the tank - you could potentially get an encrusting sponge to cover some rock. My main concern would be how to feed an NPS sponge without fouling up the water in a tank that small. I’d suggest a photosynthetic sponge, but, in a tank that small, I don’t know that it would be low maintenance.

For corals - based off the natural environments that are sponge/macroalgae dominant - softies are probably a good choice.

Sponges are not necessary if they’d be an insane level of work, I am already considering how foul the water will get with feeding live invertebrates to the mantis shrimp every so often so I will consider that. What sort of maintenance would a photosynthetic sponge require vs a nps? Ive little experience with sponges.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Sponges are not necessary if they’d be an insane level of work, I am already considering how foul the water will get with feeding live invertebrates to the mantis shrimp every so often so I will consider that. What sort of maintenance would a photosynthetic sponge require vs a nps? Ive little experience with sponges.

If it grows well in your tank, a photosynthetic sponge may need frequent trimming - some people consider them to be somewhat invasive, so that trimming may involve beating it back from your corals.

Looking at these a bit more, though, it seems that (out of the few photosynthetic sponges available on the market currently) the red photosynthetic plating sponge may be a good choice, as it is noted for growing slower than the blue and purple ones. Recommended moderate light and flow for them if you're interested (though some people keep them under high light). You wouldn't need to feed these, so they shouldn't wreck your water quality.

As with most sponges, though, some people report them doing fine in their tank while others have no luck keeping them. I've heard that dosing things like silica, Chaeto-gro, and phyto (which you'd probably want to avoid) can help if the sponges are doing poorly though.

 

[Casket_Case]

Sponges are not necessary if they’d be an insane level of work, I am already considering how foul the water will get with feeding live invertebrates to the mantis shrimp every so often so I will consider that. What sort of maintenance would a photosynthetic sponge require vs a nps? Ive little experience with sponges.

They're not an insane level of work.
I have some white ones growing underneath my rock and a bigger orange one thats starting to grow through and out of my rock, sponges do nice for me and I grow them in conjunction with Caulerpa Prolifera and Mangroves. I don't do anything extra for the sponges. I just throw in some dry pellets to the back chamber to feed everything

 

[WilliamH2529]

That works out kind of well since I want my tank to be a mix of red-green-white or orange mostly more of a beach vibe than a reef vibe.

 

[Casket_Case]

That works out kind of well since I want my tank to be a mix of red-green-white or orange mostly more of a beach vibe than a reef vibe.

They call those 'Coastal' themed that's what I've got