Pineapple Sponges?

[Aspect]

Anything that eats these? I'm not worried about having them but my sump is getting some indirect light from refugium lights and they are starting to grow on everything. Just dont want them clogging a pump somehow.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I don’t think they’re photosynthetic, are they?

 

[Aspect]

I don’t think they’re photosynthetic, are they?

They are only growing in lit areas

 

[bushdoc]

Hawksbill turtle and many Angelfish.
Sponges are not photosynthetic, so maybe those are not sponges. Any pics?

 

[Aspect]

Chatgpt says:

 

[Aspect]

Best pic I could get really refugiums are covered in algae

Hawksbill turtle and many Angelfish.
Sponges are not photosynthetic, so maybe those are not sponges. Any pics?

 

[bushdoc]

So I have learned something from ChatGpt, If you are worried about them sponges I would clean sump, vacuum bottom. Sumps can be trap for nutrients, hence proliferation of filter feeders there. I suppose sump is too small to house hawksbill turtle?.

 

[kevgib67]

Harmless filter feeders, they show up in new tank and then go away by themselves.

 

[Aspect]

Harmless filter feeders, they show up in new tank and then go away by themselves.

Had them for like 6 months now tank is 3 years old

 

[Aspect]

So I have learned something from ChatGpt, If you are worried about them sponges I would clean sump, vacuum bottom. Sumps can be trap for nutrients, hence proliferation of filter feeders there. I suppose sump is too small to house hawksbill turtle?.

That's why I asked for something that can eat at them. I did order the hawksbill so we will see if it fits in sump. Heard they only get to 200 pounds so should be fine sump is 75 gallons

 

[StartingATank]

Yes. Pineapple sponges. They are not photosynthetic and feed off of silicates and nutrients in the water. Also, hawksbill sea turtles need a large amount of swimming area to live comfortably. I might be missing something, but are you guys talking about hawksbill sea turtles? I also saw you say sump it 75 gallons. Is that a typo? Also, I may be wrong about this, but I believe it is illegal to own a sea turtle in the USA without being an environmental protector and stuff like that

 

[Aspect]

Thanks guys I think we're getting off topic, I am aware these are pineapple sponges I posted this in the hopes of someone knowing of a fish/invert that eats these to prevent overgrowth.

 

[StartingATank]

Thanks guys I think we're getting off topic, I am aware these are pineapple sponges I posted this in the hopes of someone knowing of a fish/invert that eats these to prevent overgrowth.

They usually will just go away on their own once they eat all the silicates out of the water

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

Had them for like 6 months now tank is 3 years old

They don't typically cause problems, but if they're concerning you, they become lodged pretty easily. You can scrape them off just about anything. Buying fish/inverts felt like a bit of a waste with my situation because they were scraped off so easily. But that was just my situation. Maybe the thread below will be of some help as you wait for others to respond!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/p...tand-theyre-beneficial-filter-feeders.888725/

 

[Cthulukelele]

Thanks guys I think we're getting off topic, I am aware these are pineapple sponges I posted this in the hopes of someone knowing of a fish/invert that eats these to prevent overgrowth.

Pineapple sponges are sharp and unpleasant to eat. Even most sponge eating fish won't eat them. If you want you can remove them manually quite easily if you'd like but:

A) they almost never overgrow a tank
B) they're beneficial
C) they self-limit growth and crash once there's no available food/as the tank matures typically

My biggest comment is please do not put a sea turtle in your 75 gallon sump to subsist solely on a transient beneficial sponge growing there.

 

[Aspect]

They usually will just go away on their own once they eat all the silicates out of the water

Ive read often that their skeleton is calcium based. Also I don't believe my water would contain much silicates I consistently run 0 tds rodi water.

 

[StartingATank]

Ive read often that their skeleton is calcium based. Also I don't believe my water would contain much silicates I consistently run 0 tds rodi water.

Even if you run 0 tds RODI water, silicates still are found. Not trying to get into an argument, but almost every system that gets started has silicates in it, which is what feeds dinos and other nuisance algaes and pineapple sponges. As stated above, they are usually beneficial. I currently have pineapple sponges in my tank and I run 0 tds water.

 

[SaltyMcBubble]

Yes. Pineapple sponges. They are not photosynthetic and feed off of silicates and nutrients in the water. Also, hawksbill sea turtles need a large amount of swimming area to live comfortably. I might be missing something, but are you guys talking about hawksbill sea turtles? I also saw you say sump it 75 gallons. Is that a typo? Also, I may be wrong about this, but I believe it is illegal to own a sea turtle in the USA without being an environmental protector and stuff like that

I believe they were joking about the turtle…

 

[Aspect]

Even if you run 0 tds RODI water, silicates still are found. Not trying to get into an argument, but almost every system that gets started has silicates in it, which is what feeds dinos and other nuisance algaes and pineapple sponges. As stated above, they are usually beneficial. I currently have pineapple sponges in my tank and I run 0 tds water.

Yeah I just read this, but I still shouldn't have any as I run 3 DI resins that never get exhausted before replacement.

 

[StartingATank]

I believe they were joking about the turtle…

They could have, I was just unclear about it and wanted to make sure