Pineapple sponges I think....HEEEEEELP!!!

[AcHilles47reeF]

HI PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

I have attached a pic showing a small part of my problem. I have what I think are pineapple sponges in my back chamber of my Innovative marine 20. Some of the pineapple sponges made their way into the front display now they are EVERYWHERE!!!! They are completely covering the bottom of may rocks, they are attached to my coral, every time I do a water change the things are floating everywhere And I cannot get rid of them. Can anyone help please. Is there a way to get rid of these sponges. They are all over front of the Innovative marine 20 and have become a nuisance. Could anyone advise?

 

[blaxsun]

I can't see the video on my iPad, but if they look like little miniature pineapples then they're pineapple sponges. Completely harmless and in fact very beneficial to a reef (if you have pineapples you've arrived!)

 

[AcHilles47reeF]

I can't see the video on my iPad, but if they look like little miniature pineapples then they're pineapple sponges. Completely harmless and in fact very beneficial to a reef (if you have pineapples you've arrived!)

yea sorry I don't know why the video is not working but I managed to put a picture up. I understand they are not harmful the problem is they are completely covering my display. Every time I do a water change the things float all over my tank like a kelp forest. They are on the side of my corals as well as attached to the polyps. They make the whole thing ugly and my coral don't look nice because they are covered in pineapple sponges.

 

[blaxsun]

It's a Mac/Safari browser thing I believe. It's really hard to tell from the image. It might be easier to ask you if they look like this:

 

[AcHilles47reeF]

I can't see the video on my iPad, but if they look like little miniature pineapples then they're pineapple sponges. Completely harmless and in fact very beneficial to a reef (if you have pineapples you've arrived!)

yea sorry I don't know why the video is not working but I managed to put a picture up. I understand they are not harmful the problem is they are completely covering my display. Every time I do a water change the things float all over my tank like a kelp forest. They are on the side of my corals as well as attached to the polyps. They make the whole thing ugly and my coral don't look nice because they are covered in pineapple sponges.

It's a Mac/Safari browser thing I believe. It's really hard to tell from the image. It might be easier to ask you if they look like this:

yes how do I get rid of them?

 

[blaxsun]

Well, the first things I'd ask is what your water parameters are (alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate), when you last tested, how often and what % you perform water changes and what the water flow is like in your tank, ie: do you run anything like a Nero 3 (etc.) wavemaker in your tank?

Also, what do you run for filtration on either side of the AIO sump, ie: filter socks, media caddy (what media), skimmers, etc, And what do you run the pump speed at?

 

[AcHilles47reeF]

Well, the first things I'd ask is what your water parameters are (alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate), when you last tested, how often and what % you perform water changes and what the water flow is like in your tank, ie: do you run anything like a Nero 3 (etc.) wavemaker in your tank?

Also, what do you run for filtration on either side of the AIO sump, ie: filter socks, media caddy (what media), skimmers, etc, And what do you run the pump speed at?

my water parameters are fine. All of them fall close to the recommended average for a reef. I haven't had an issues with my water parameters. I have one mp10 and just the innovative marine return pump. On both sides of the back chamber filtration I have media baskets. Both sides have mechanical filtration and one side has the biological filtration also a K1 nano skimmer

 

[SaltwaterSky]

Pineapple sponges thrive in high silicate water. But those don't look like sponges to me personally, I would guess more likely a type of hydrozoan, non-pineapple sponge variety, or marine mold.

 

[AcHilles47reeF]

Pineapple sponges thrive in high silicate water. But those don't look like sponges to me personally, I would guess more likely a type of hydrozoan, non-pineapple sponge variety, or marine mold.

I don't think its hydrozoan, sorry my lights are off and kinda hard to take a good pic but here is another pic. They look like pineapple sponges but with a lot of extra long hair strands. any idea? Or is this Hydrozoan?

 

[SaltwaterSky]

I don't think its hydrozoan, sorry my lights are off and kinda hard to take a good pic but here is another pic. They look like pineapple sponges but with a lot of extra long hair strands. any idea? Or is this Hydrozoan?

Oh, nope, zoomed in there those definitely look like pineapple sponges. Where do you get your RODI/Saltwater from? Do you have 0 TDS water? Also do you supplement any trace elements? How old is your tank? Pineapple sponges tend to come in a wave to lots of young tanks and then slowly disapear over the following few months if chemistry is solid.

 

[AcHilles47reeF]

Oh, nope, zoomed in there those definitely look like pineapple sponges. Where do you get your RODI/Saltwater from? Do you have 0 TDS water? Also do you supplement any trace elements? How old is your tank? Pineapple sponges tend to come in a wave to lots of young tanks and then slowly disapear over the following few months if chemistry is solid.

I get my water from a pretty reliable fish store located in San Jose CA, called Neptunes aquatics. The only thing I am dosing is the All for reef by tropic marine. Maintains my alk and calcium stable. the tank is about a year old.

 

[blaxsun]

The IM media baskets can let a lot of water bypass any filtration in them. If you're getting a lot of crap in the rear sump you may want to clean everything out and temporarily switch to filter socks just until you get the worst of the sponges out.

I had a pair of IM Fusion 25 Lagoons and it was always a challenge keeping the rear sump clean.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Sponges die when exposed to air. Can you easily remove any of the rocks and pick them off? I agree these things can be annoying… I have them in my sumps as well but it sounds like you have a lot more of them. There are several other threads on here that talk about ways to lower silicates in your tank & silicates feed the sponges.