sponges are like a filter.

 

what kind of sponge are we talking about? living sponges or filter sponges?

G~

 

All cons for our application IMO. If you dont clean it every day it will be a nitrate factory, so it is kind of a PITA...........otherwise...like already said it can be a filter for some sediment and/or airbubbles depending on how you use it. But unecessary IMO.

It can also be used as "living" biological filter...but it is still a nitrate factory and unecessary as our live rock is all we need.

 

living sponge

 

I've never had luck with living sponges. they look really cool, but they always end up withering away to nothing...literally. If you can keep it alive, let me know how.

The only special note with them that a LFS once told me is that they can't touch air or they die. They recommended that when I put it into the tank, to put the bag sideways and float it in under water. Maybe they were blowing smoke? Any sponge experts out there?

 

I've heard the same thing about the air Diving the world.

I have never tried to buy a sponge because normally they don't live, but I have plenty of small sponges coming in on my live rock. I like these, because they are filter feeders and what they use to grow would otherwise pollute my tank.

Whiskey

 

They recommended that when I put it into the tank, to put the bag sideways and float it in under water.

Now thats the thing I don't get. I know why that is. Supposedly if they are exposed to the air, then they will get microbubbles trapped in their pores, and not be able to feed properly as a result. Hehehee, I've even seen people mention that you should not worry about the air, but shake them well when putting them into the tank... Man, good thing they aren't babies

The thing I don't get though, is that you aren't supposed to put ANY store tank water into your tank. Because it may have some parasite/contaminant that your tank isn't used to. And if you released it sideways out of the bag, there would be at least SOME old tank water that got into it, right? I'd think there's no way to avoid that, unless you'd completely drained your bag, but then there's a good chance you'd get air in it......

 

the biggest problem with getting sponges is that they tend to grow in a certain area and in a certain orientation to the flow. it is very hard to know what this orientation is in your aquarium. without knowing this placement is very difficult and most of the time it leads to death of the sponge.

there are plenty of sponges that will grow in our aquariums. just look under any well established LR. you will most like see lots of blacks, yellow, oranges, white, and even some red encrusting sponges under the LR. they are great filter feeders. the reason why these do so well is the fact that they are growing where they need to grow, not where you think it would look the best.

G~

 

I bought one a few weeks ago and it appers to be doing fine, I put him by the output. Hes got a crab that things hes his new home\look out perch. Its a ornge tree sponge. If you let them hit the air they will die. If your worried about the pet store water, question why you buy from their. I only use one store. If I dont trust the water why would I trust the item I bought that was soaking in their water and would most likely have what the water had. I do target feed my sponge at least once a week.

 

Most sponges sold in the hobby do poorly because they come from areas we can't duplicate. The fan and tree sponges tend to come from areas with bulk laminar flow. If you can't give it to them then they can't feed or breathe properly.

Sponges that hitchhike in are the ones to look for. They tend to be the survivors of the bunch since surviving the shipping process means they're a species that is tolerant of air exposure and being on the LR in the first place means they're very likely to be from conditions similar to what you'll have in your tank.

 

Thats a good point, thats why its important to look into what you are buying before you buy it. Also to keep simmlar region items in your tank.
If it growns only in certin part of the word their is a reason why.

 

true, thx everyone, I wont get one.

 

ill tell my teacher how hard they are to keep in the home aquarium