Sponges Overtaking Reef

[EbiAqua]

I have had my nano reef running since late January of this year. Early on I saw small strands of pale purple sponge on some of the rocks I got from my LFS and decided to keep them.

Now there are long, noodle-like strands creeping over my rocks and even some corals. They nearly killed my clove polyp frag, and are starting to grow over my GSP. They are winding around my rockwork like creeper vines. When I try to remove manually they come off in tine pieces, as they are so delicate my tweezers rip through them. I saved my clove polyps by manually removing as much as possible and letting it sit in the open air for 10 minutes. Obviously I can't realistically do that with the whole tank.

How can I manage or remove these nuisance sponges from my system? I wouldn't mind them at all except they are actively harming with my corals.

 

[Staghorn]

What’s up buddy, Post some pictures

 

[EbiAqua]

What’s up buddy, Post some pictures

 

[mythesis]

Following as I have the same sponges all over my system.

They don't seem to be bothering corals, but my wife hates the look of them.

Hopefully someone has ideas of how to eliminate/reduce them.

 

[TWYOUNG]

These look pretty similar to what I have tons of. Haven't seen any negative effects as yet. I wonder if overfeeding is the culprit or if it's just a normal healthy tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What color are they in white light?

 

[TWYOUNG]

What color are they in white light?

White

 

[Subsea]

I have had my nano reef running since late January of this year. Early on I saw small strands of pale purple sponge on some of the rocks I got from my LFS and decided to keep them.

Now there are long, noodle-like strands creeping over my rocks and even some corals. They nearly killed my clove polyp frag, and are starting to grow over my GSP. They are winding around my rockwork like creeper vines. When I try to remove manually they come off in tine pieces, as they are so delicate my tweezers rip through them. I saved my clove polyps by manually removing as much as possible and letting it sit in the open air for 10 minutes. Obviously I can't realistically do that with the whole tank.

How can I manage or remove these nuisance sponges from my system? I wouldn't mind them at all except they are actively harming with my corals.

I don’t think that those tubes are sponges considering delicate brittle nature. That blue light does not help us help you. Please include full tank shot with white light.

These look pretty similar to what I have tons of. Haven't seen any negative effects as yet. I wonder if overfeeding is the culprit or if it's just a normal healthy tank.

Young,
Are your tubes delicate and fall apart? Your tubes look shorter & fatter than OP. How long did it take to get that populated?

 

[TWYOUNG]

I haven't tried to get rid of them but I would imagine they're fairly delicate. The longer ones hanging down move in the current. They seem to be tubelike with an open end. The tank is 3 1/2 years old and up until about a year ago I fed tons of phyto to help get rid of dinos. I've wondered it that contributed to a proliferation of this sponge-like stuff and the myriad of vermetids I have.

 

[bradreef]

I have found peroxide dips to be effective in reducing sponge.

 

[bushdoc]

This question pops up every now and then on this forum, suggest doing some search.
Some angelfish eat sponges, hawksbill turtle too , however the best biological method of controlling sponges overgrowth is to starve them by reducing suspended matter in water column and increasing general biodiversity of your tank.