Two part question on sponges & featherdusters

[marinenewbie]

Sorry, but I've got 2 quick questions...

Sponges: I seem to be developing little colonies of q-tip sponges all of a sudden. Is this ok? Can you have too many sponges??

Featherdusters: My LR is also all of a sudden sprouting beautiful little featherdusters of all different colours and sizes from what looked to be dead "tubes" Do they multiply? And if so, will they spread from rock to rock??

You know, the fish and the inverts are fun to watch, but the LR is absolutely fascinating!!

[lossman]

Lucky you!! Most people find sponges and featherdusters to be hardest to keep alive in their tank. :) We are one of the select lucky ones that seem to have some success in keeping them alive and watching them multiply. Enjoy!!!! :)

[jgoodrich71]

I wouldn't say you are particulary "lucky", it just means that you have enough food floating around it there for them. Not all that uncommon.

[lossman]

Being as mine is a relatively new tank, I still consider myself "lucky" as several others with tanks the same age as mine with rock from the same vendor as mine, have not been able to keep their sponges and dusters alive. I'm LUCKY!! :)

[pledosophy]

Those Q tip type sponges are a sign there is extra nutrients in your water column. A few are not a bad thing, if you have tons, time to find a way to increase filtration.

The problem will take care of itself if the tank is still really new.

[marinenewbie]

Yes, the tank is still new...January of this year. I am "under rocked" at the moment, and still need to increase by around 15 lbs. or so. Up here, rock is anywhere from $10-12.00/lb, so I've been adding it slowly.

I'm thinking maybe the growth of the dusters and sponges is not a coincidence considering I had a cyano outbreak 3 weeks or so ago.

Too much nutrient, and not enough filtration?? Should I make an effort to add more rock more quickly do you think?

In the meantime, I am truly enjoying the various and multi-coloured creatures that are springing up here and there!

[bertoni]

There's no need to hurry with the rock, IMO, with that stocking level, as long as the ammonia remains undetectable. Are you planning to cure the rock yourself? Adding rock can spike ammonia if there's much die-off.

[marinenewbie]

No sir - I'm still too new at this! Only cured rock for me!!
I usually grab 1 rock at a time, and at least 2-3 weeks apart. The LFS here have smaller pieces of about 2lbs or so, although my last piece was just over 6 lbs. It is the rock that currently has the most featherduster activity on it.

So you think my method is ok for now? A couple of lbs at a time, well spaced out timewise??

[bertoni]

That sounds reasonable to me, although adding live rock that's been exposed to air always has some risk.