Sponge idea

[Jholli90]

I've been doing some research (not much yet) on sponges. From what I can tell, they eat the same nutrients as diatoms. And one website said they could be used to control diatoms because they would eat more than the diatoms. So if I have diatoms, does that mean I have enough food to support a sponge? From my research, most foods that aquariumist add are to large for the sponge to eat and they end up starving. What could I add for them to eat?

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Sponges eat bacterioplankton & disolved organics, & silicate.
Perhaps they compete with diatoms?
Look into cryptic refugiums

 

[Jholli90]

Can you buy bacterioplankton? Pretty sure I have plenty of silicates (diatom blooms ). Can a sponge survive on silicates alone? Unfortunately I can't have any sort of refugium. I do have a sump, but I don't have enough outlets, or breaker power to put another thing drawing power lol I was thinking about putting the sponge directly into my tank.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Bacteria in you tank water is what the sponge eats.
Cryptic sponge will grow in the darker areas in your tank - under/ behind rocks

 

[cristata.reef]

Sponges will use the silicates to grow but need bacterioplankton (really just bacteria) to feed. I wouldn't get a sponge until your diatoms are under control. The diatoms have a fairly good chance of outcompeting the sponge, growing over it, and killing it --> giving it more space to grow etc etc. BTW how old is your tank? I would honestly just wait it out and make sure your nitrates are low to discourage their spread

 

[Jholli90]

Sponges will use the silicates to grow but need bacterioplankton (really just bacteria) to feed. I wouldn't get a sponge until your diatoms are under control. The diatoms have a fairly good chance of outcompeting the sponge, growing over it, and killing it --> giving it more space to grow etc etc. BTW how old is your tank? I would honestly just wait it out and make sure your nitrates are low to discourage their spread

My tank is pretty new (5 months). I was looking at adding a sponge in about 6 months to use as a sort of preventative maintenance to keep diatoms at bay later down the road, but was thinking since I had diatoms I would in theory have food for the sponge. I like posting here, because alot of times real life experiences beat Google lol

 

[cristata.reef]

The diatoms will go away on their own. Wait until they do then get a sponge