Keeping Sponges?

[happyclam]

The filter for my reef tank is an EcoSystem mud refugium only (no protein skimmer.) I was wondering if I would be able to keep sponges?

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Depends upon the sponge. The sponges you get as hitchhikers on live rock, the encrusting kind, are pretty easy - just about anyone can keep them. Pretty much all of the sponges you would find for sale (typically from the Caribbean) are very difficult to keep. The issue typically is that they need to be fed a huge amount, more than the average reef setup can handle. Just having a mud refugium will probably not make it possible for you to keep them. If you have more questions about them, you might want to pose them in the new Non-photosynthetic forum.

 

[sl-atl]

This article is worth a read. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/invert.htm

I have quite a few encrusting sponges that are doing very well, and am tempted to buy a small Atlantic ball sponge and see how it does. I wouldn't try yet if I had a very new tank.