Orange ball sponge

[Gregcoyote]

I am successfully growing some yellow ball sponges as my tank doesn't run with a fine particulate filter and I have lots of floating goodies. Saw a nice orange ball sponge at the LFS and wondered what, other than the obvious of not exposing it to air or bright light, what is recommended?

 

[melosu58]

Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: Red Ball Sponge

The same as this sponge.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Looks pretty tough to grow, but does the presence of volunteer growing yellow ball sponges in my tank indicate conditions suitable for these as well?

 

[melosu58]

Most sponges will grow ok as long as they have plenty of food to filter and not exposed to air. The only problem is that by the time you keep enough food in there it might foul up your tank. Keep an eye out for nuisance algea.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I use a algae turf scrubber, so I can operate a open system. Algae isn't a problem. Thanks for the advice.

 

[melosu58]

Not to go off topic but how is the algea turf scrubber doing? Are you getting good results.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Been running almost 20 years. Yes, it works well. It has several benefits, but it is a bit more costly to set up and run. I have it in the basement in it's own room with the fish tank above in the living room. It takes up some space, wouldn't work under a tank stand. But I designed and built it myself, so a more miniaturized version could be done.

I based the design on a book I read years ago by a Dr. Addy on turf scrubbing systems and gave it a go.