BIG reef secret for filtration.

[sporazoa]

Thanks for the info polaravic. I also used those types of media years ago on a HOB filter for a FO tank, but the media only housed bacteria as I never knew enough to seed it with mature LR.

Does your media now contain any of the fauna I mention above?

 

[amcvay1979]

when my tank was newer I noticed a ton of tiny white sponges growing everywhere, in my overflow, in my sump and even in the bottom chamber of my skimmer. I have a good bit of white sponge on my rocks, so obviously that's where it came from. As my tank got more mature and stable, the sponges went away. I don't know if carbon dosing helped reduce their number or not, but today my system is ULNS and I don't have near the amount of tiny sponges I once used to. Now...I just this past weekend began dosing Zeovit Sponge Power and noticed that my water has been polished for lack of a better term, and my phosphates went from .10 to ZERO (confirmed in 3 back to back to back tests) so I do believe there is power in sponges and tunicates and barnacles filtering the water.

 

[Wonton Soup]

You can try all the different variations you can think of but you'll undoubtedly find that a marine aquarium just doesn't work in the long run without live rock. If you don't load up your display with it then you'll need to keep a bunch in your sump.

No amount of dark surface area (glass panes, pvc, bio balls, etc.) will be able to come even remotely close to the amount of surface area that even a few pounds of live rock provide. It's literally a fraction of the filtering capacity that live rock is capable of sustaining.
In reality it isn't the tube worms and "barnacles" that do all the work. It's denitrifying bacteria. Those invertebrates certainly do help a tremendous amount but they fall far short of the filtering capacity of good old limestone and bacteria.

 

[sporazoa]

Good to have different opinions, thanks.

 

[SantaMonica]

you don't have any or at least very low nitrates and phosphates because of the barnacles filtering your water?

Unfortunately, barnacles are NPS filter feeders; they don't consume any nitrate or phosphate at all.

I would never run a minimalistic tank without a skimmer. In case there is ever an issue coral, fish or invertebrate dies then the skimmer is on hand to do its job.

Also unfortunately, if something dies the skimmer does nothing. A skimmer removes food particles, not ammonia. When something dies or you dump too much food, you get an ammonia spike which does the killing. A skimmer does not touch this ammonia.

As my tank got more mature and stable, the sponges went away. I don't know if carbon dosing helped reduce their number or not, but today my system is ULNS and I don't have near the amount of tiny sponges I once used to.

Probably what happend was the periphyton on your rocks increase and consumed all the food particles out of the water (which is what periphyton does). Thus the sponges were out-competed.

I do believe there is power in sponges and tunicates and barnacles filtering the water

Yes, they eat/consume/remove food particles, but do nothing to remove nutrients (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, C02).