This is a post that I used in a Reply to another members Large Tank thread:
However the pictures of my sponges are only here.
There are LFS around me that do sell tropical and sub-tropical (without telling customers) Porifera is the phyllum in which all Sponges fall.
Something i saw for sale recently in a reef tank full of frags, fell under the Hexactinellid class, which are glass sponges.
Demospongiae is another class, which makes up almost all of the Porifera phyllum. These are the types of sponges, I believe, that have developed for me. Much of the structure of the Demosponges are silica-based. This makes sense because I used Play Sand early on in the life of the system in the shark pond and also in some tanks. Play Sand is a silica sand. Not aragonite like what I have in some tanks now. But the silicates from that original sand would have contributed to the Demosponges development and i also see sand that gets kicked up by powerheads, sticking to the sponge colonies, and I assume, being enveloped.
These curious sponges I did not intentionally purchase. I have hundreds of pounds of LR, I could not really say how much because it is dispersed throughout many tanks and I havent kept track over the years. Most of the LR started out as Dry Rock, from CaribSea or Marco. However an initial ~hundred pounds of various Live types like Fiji branch, Tonga, shelf, a little base rock, seeded the refugia. To this day, if I happen to see a piece of cured LR for sale at an LFS with a lot of interesting, non-pest, Growth on it, I will purchase it to increase diversity throughout the system.
I would definitely not rely on sponges for any type of consistent filtration, and I hope i didn't convey that sort of message. I believe that they are one of the many fascinating creatures that develop in refugia, and as do most micro-fauna, they also aid in the breakdown of nutrients. Smaller mouths to smaller mouths to smaller mouths!
Definitely employ both filter socks/pre-filters and a large mechanical/biological filter, such as bead or sand filters, in your Life Support system for your Shark tank. These types of filters are easy to employ and offer the benefit of being able to easily clean them out by backflushing them. This will work well for you as well because if I recall correctly, you may have said you have a floor drain? or the ability to install a drain?
Either way, sharks make messes.....
Two types, Blue and Yellow/Tan:
Two types:
A Stringy Pink Sponge
Left side of picture, the blue sponges are spreading to more LR:
However the pictures of my sponges are only here.
There are LFS around me that do sell tropical and sub-tropical (without telling customers) Porifera is the phyllum in which all Sponges fall.
Something i saw for sale recently in a reef tank full of frags, fell under the Hexactinellid class, which are glass sponges.
Demospongiae is another class, which makes up almost all of the Porifera phyllum. These are the types of sponges, I believe, that have developed for me. Much of the structure of the Demosponges are silica-based. This makes sense because I used Play Sand early on in the life of the system in the shark pond and also in some tanks. Play Sand is a silica sand. Not aragonite like what I have in some tanks now. But the silicates from that original sand would have contributed to the Demosponges development and i also see sand that gets kicked up by powerheads, sticking to the sponge colonies, and I assume, being enveloped.
These curious sponges I did not intentionally purchase. I have hundreds of pounds of LR, I could not really say how much because it is dispersed throughout many tanks and I havent kept track over the years. Most of the LR started out as Dry Rock, from CaribSea or Marco. However an initial ~hundred pounds of various Live types like Fiji branch, Tonga, shelf, a little base rock, seeded the refugia. To this day, if I happen to see a piece of cured LR for sale at an LFS with a lot of interesting, non-pest, Growth on it, I will purchase it to increase diversity throughout the system.
I would definitely not rely on sponges for any type of consistent filtration, and I hope i didn't convey that sort of message. I believe that they are one of the many fascinating creatures that develop in refugia, and as do most micro-fauna, they also aid in the breakdown of nutrients. Smaller mouths to smaller mouths to smaller mouths!
Definitely employ both filter socks/pre-filters and a large mechanical/biological filter, such as bead or sand filters, in your Life Support system for your Shark tank. These types of filters are easy to employ and offer the benefit of being able to easily clean them out by backflushing them. This will work well for you as well because if I recall correctly, you may have said you have a floor drain? or the ability to install a drain?
Either way, sharks make messes.....
Two types, Blue and Yellow/Tan:
Two types:
A Stringy Pink Sponge
Left side of picture, the blue sponges are spreading to more LR:
