fragging a sponge
- Thread starter alyssia
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kalied20
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I tried an orange tree sponge and the frag died. I would think that there is a way to do it. Hope someone knows?
sharkbait9
Active Member
Yes you have to make sure that you do not move the sponge any where near air. Sponge is very delicate when it comes to this. To frag it just take a sharp knife, razor and just make a clean cut (depending on type of sponge) My finger sponge I just cut off the tallest fingers and lay them on a rock with a rubber band already around it. If you the tallest piece is the main stem just clip the top of it off and stick it to the rock. My ball sponge I cut in half and laid the flat part down on the sand. Frilly sponge you just rip it into frags or cut it, they also an easy sponge to frag. Any air the sponge comes in contact with will clog the pores and kill it. As the sponge dies it will slowly rot away more of the sponge eventually killing the whole sponge. Been their done that, was not happy. HTH you.
alyssia
Active Member
Originally Posted by sharkbait9
Yes you have to make sure that you do not move the sponge any where near air. Sponge is very delicate when it comes to this. To frag it just take a sharp knife, razor and just make a clean cut (depending on type of sponge) My finger sponge I just cut off the tallest fingers and lay them on a rock with a rubber band already around it. If you the tallest piece is the main stem just clip the top of it off and stick it to the rock. My ball sponge I cut in half and laid the flat part down on the sand. Frilly sponge you just rip it into frags or cut it, they also an easy sponge to frag. Any air the sponge comes in contact with will clog the pores and kill it. As the sponge dies it will slowly rot away more of the sponge eventually killing the whole sponge. Been their done that, was not happy. HTH you.
How long did it take your sponge to start dying when it was exposed to air? I was doing a WC about 4 months ago and accidentally exposed about two inches of sponge. It still looks about fine though and is even growing. :thinking:
Yes you have to make sure that you do not move the sponge any where near air. Sponge is very delicate when it comes to this. To frag it just take a sharp knife, razor and just make a clean cut (depending on type of sponge) My finger sponge I just cut off the tallest fingers and lay them on a rock with a rubber band already around it. If you the tallest piece is the main stem just clip the top of it off and stick it to the rock. My ball sponge I cut in half and laid the flat part down on the sand. Frilly sponge you just rip it into frags or cut it, they also an easy sponge to frag. Any air the sponge comes in contact with will clog the pores and kill it. As the sponge dies it will slowly rot away more of the sponge eventually killing the whole sponge. Been their done that, was not happy. HTH you.
How long did it take your sponge to start dying when it was exposed to air? I was doing a WC about 4 months ago and accidentally exposed about two inches of sponge. It still looks about fine though and is even growing. :thinking:
sharkbait9
Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
How long did it take your sponge to start dying when it was exposed to air? I was doing a WC about 4 months ago and accidentally exposed about two inches of sponge. It still looks about fine though and is even growing. :thinking:
oh no its a matter of days before it turns black/brown and starts to die. I had my whole frag exposed while I did the fraging. As I found out later after it had died. The pores need to be soaked and real wet, well mine was damp and the pores were getting a lot of in them.
I have found over the years now that it really all depends on the sponge itself.
Frilly sponge hate exposure to air. My fingers did too but, have tripled in size and my ball sponge became two whole ball sponges again.
I was taught a trick to frag sponge wrap a paper towel around the part to be fraged under water, so if you do by accident expose it to air it will be covered with towels that are stuck to it.
How long did it take your sponge to start dying when it was exposed to air? I was doing a WC about 4 months ago and accidentally exposed about two inches of sponge. It still looks about fine though and is even growing. :thinking:
oh no its a matter of days before it turns black/brown and starts to die. I had my whole frag exposed while I did the fraging. As I found out later after it had died. The pores need to be soaked and real wet, well mine was damp and the pores were getting a lot of in them.
I have found over the years now that it really all depends on the sponge itself.
Frilly sponge hate exposure to air. My fingers did too but, have tripled in size and my ball sponge became two whole ball sponges again.
I was taught a trick to frag sponge wrap a paper towel around the part to be fraged under water, so if you do by accident expose it to air it will be covered with towels that are stuck to it.
alyssia
Active Member
Originally Posted by sharkbait9
oh no its a matter of days before it turns black/brown and starts to die. I had my whole frag exposed while I did the fraging. As I found out later after it had died. The pores need to be soaked and real wet, well mine was damp and the pores were getting a lot of in them.
I have found over the years now that it really all depends on the sponge itself.
Frilly sponge hate exposure to air. My fingers did too but, have tripled in size and my ball sponge became two whole ball sponges again.
I was taught a trick to frag sponge wrap a paper towel around the part to be fraged under water, so if you do by accident expose it to air it will be covered with towels that are stuck to it.
Thanks for your help. Do you feed your sponges phyto? I have two tree sponges and I'm wondering how often I should be feeding them. When I was using phyto alot I had a problem with nitrates.
oh no its a matter of days before it turns black/brown and starts to die. I had my whole frag exposed while I did the fraging. As I found out later after it had died. The pores need to be soaked and real wet, well mine was damp and the pores were getting a lot of in them.
I have found over the years now that it really all depends on the sponge itself.
Frilly sponge hate exposure to air. My fingers did too but, have tripled in size and my ball sponge became two whole ball sponges again.
I was taught a trick to frag sponge wrap a paper towel around the part to be fraged under water, so if you do by accident expose it to air it will be covered with towels that are stuck to it.
Thanks for your help. Do you feed your sponges phyto? I have two tree sponges and I'm wondering how often I should be feeding them. When I was using phyto alot I had a problem with nitrates.
sharkbait9
Active Member
I feed every other day w/filtration and skimmer off, just running p/h's for an hour. Feeding a mix of dt phyto, reef chili, reef solutions and marine snow at half the recommended dose. yeah its all pretty much the same stuff but I have had nothing but the best results.
All my own personal coral and the coral i have adopted that had one leg in the grave, had all great success and great rejuvenation rate. With the mix that I make up every body reaches out for food, even my night feeders activate their feeder tentacles.
I do not how ever recommend spot/target feeding sponge, they are like clams you can clog their gills/pores. So for all intensive purposes, if your recommended dose is three caps? I would do one capful too maybe one and a half caps (most capfuls being around 5ml) and this dosing would depend on results.
Also feeding would/should be gauged by co-inhabitants. If you have a lot of filter feeders they dosing maybe higher and if less co-inhabitants less the dose. I found that with my tanks I bought six more feather dusters to add to my collection of wild caught feathers to help capture the food being dosed in the tank. Feather dusters are a great way to control loose food free floating and screwing up water quality, plus adds a nice element to the tank. So I think.
All my own personal coral and the coral i have adopted that had one leg in the grave, had all great success and great rejuvenation rate. With the mix that I make up every body reaches out for food, even my night feeders activate their feeder tentacles.
I do not how ever recommend spot/target feeding sponge, they are like clams you can clog their gills/pores. So for all intensive purposes, if your recommended dose is three caps? I would do one capful too maybe one and a half caps (most capfuls being around 5ml) and this dosing would depend on results.
Also feeding would/should be gauged by co-inhabitants. If you have a lot of filter feeders they dosing maybe higher and if less co-inhabitants less the dose. I found that with my tanks I bought six more feather dusters to add to my collection of wild caught feathers to help capture the food being dosed in the tank. Feather dusters are a great way to control loose food free floating and screwing up water quality, plus adds a nice element to the tank. So I think.
alyssia
Active Member
Originally Posted by sharkbait9
I feed every other day w/filtration and skimmer off, just running p/h's for an hour. Feeding a mix of dt phyto, reef chili, reef solutions and marine snow at half the recommended dose. yeah its all pretty much the same stuff but I have had nothing but the best results.
All my own personal coral and the coral i have adopted that had one leg in the grave, had all great success and great rejuvenation rate. With the mix that I make up every body reaches out for food, even my night feeders activate their feeder tentacles.
I do not how ever recommend spot/target feeding sponge, they are like clams you can clog their gills/pores. So for all intensive purposes, if your recommended dose is three caps? I would do one capful too maybe one and a half caps (most capfuls being around 5ml) and this dosing would depend on results.
Also feeding would/should be gauged by co-inhabitants. If you have a lot of filter feeders they dosing maybe higher and if less co-inhabitants less the dose. I found that with my tanks I bought six more feather dusters to add to my collection of wild caught feathers to help capture the food being dosed in the tank. Feather dusters are a great way to control loose food free floating and screwing up water quality, plus adds a nice element to the tank. So I think.
Thanks for your help!
I feed every other day w/filtration and skimmer off, just running p/h's for an hour. Feeding a mix of dt phyto, reef chili, reef solutions and marine snow at half the recommended dose. yeah its all pretty much the same stuff but I have had nothing but the best results.
All my own personal coral and the coral i have adopted that had one leg in the grave, had all great success and great rejuvenation rate. With the mix that I make up every body reaches out for food, even my night feeders activate their feeder tentacles.
I do not how ever recommend spot/target feeding sponge, they are like clams you can clog their gills/pores. So for all intensive purposes, if your recommended dose is three caps? I would do one capful too maybe one and a half caps (most capfuls being around 5ml) and this dosing would depend on results.
Also feeding would/should be gauged by co-inhabitants. If you have a lot of filter feeders they dosing maybe higher and if less co-inhabitants less the dose. I found that with my tanks I bought six more feather dusters to add to my collection of wild caught feathers to help capture the food being dosed in the tank. Feather dusters are a great way to control loose food free floating and screwing up water quality, plus adds a nice element to the tank. So I think.
Thanks for your help!