Sponge in my reef tank on the rocks.

[dmarott1]

Sponge in my reef tank on the rocks. No idea how it was introduced to the tank. Leave it or remove it?

 

[Isopod80]

Sponge in my reef tank on the rocks. No idea how it was introduced to the tank. Leave it or remove it?

Can you post pics?

 

[Timfish]

It can get introduced with hard substrate. Leave it, sponges are essential recyclers for a healthy reef ecosystem. Steve Tyree developed a system using cryptic sponges them back in the early 90s and more recent research has shown them to be essential. Here's more info if you're interested:

Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponges. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/14555035/13completethesis.pdf

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Marine sponges are ubiquitous colonizers of shallow, clear-water environments in the oceans (1, 2). Sponges have emerged as significant mediators of biogeochemical fluxes in coastal zones by virtue of respiring organic matter and facilitating both the consumption and release of nutrients (3, 4)...

www.pnas.org

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that raise a conundrum called “Darwin’s paradox”: How can high production flourish in low-nutrient conditions? We show here that in three abundant Caribbean sponges, the granules that have been commonly observed in sponge tissue for decades are...

www.pnas.org

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

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besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

(PDF) 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop

PDF | On Jun 23, 2015, Jasper M de Goeij and others published 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) - PMC

Coral-excavating sponges are the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs and increase in abundance throughout the region. This increase is commonly attributed to a concomitant increase in food availability due to eutrophication and pollution. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.

The role of marine sponges in carbon and nitrogen cycles of coral reef and nearshore environments - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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[Isopod80]

If that doesn't sum it up for you....I don't know what will.

 

[dmarott1]

I am concerned about the amount of Sponge in my reef tank, I think it is sponge. What ever it is I don’t like the look of it.

 

[Isopod80]

I am concerned about the amount of Sponge in my reef tank, I think it is sponge. What ever it is I don’t like the look of it.

Yup, it's sponge. You can scrape or brush alot off during water changes. Toothbrush the rocks with one hand while keeping the siphon close with the other. Just suck them up as you remove them. You can remove alot quickly that way.

 

[Timfish]

There's a whole lot worse things you can have in your tank. Are you carbon dosing? Because any source of labile DOC, which carbon dosing is, can promote sponges (along with potentiall promoting pathogenic shifts in coral microbiomes). I'd leave it myself but if they really bug you steel straws with a siphon may help.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I have this little one in my Evo growing under my blasto frag. Doesn't bother the coral and looks pretty neat!

 

[dmarott1]

I am concerned about the amount of Sponge in my reef tank, I think it is sponge. What ever it is I don’t like the look of it.

Yup, it's sponge. You can scrape or brush alot off during water changes. Toothbrush the rocks with one hand while keeping the siphon close with the other. Just suck them up as you remove them. You can remove alot quickly that way.

Where is the sponge coming from? Am I doing something to promote it?

 

[Timfish]

Sponges recycle the DOC released by corals and algae. From there it gets a lot more complicated but trying to stop sponge growth is like trying to stop bacteria growth and isn't something you'd want to do even if you could.