New to Hobby ... Is this ok???

[hackneyfl]

Hello,

I am new to the hobby, have a biocube 29 with 2 OC clowns, wheeler goby and clean up crew.
I went to the local pet store and saw these sponges and they said that I could have these in my tank.
They have been in there for about a week and I notice they have a couple of these little white clear white tube looking things on them.
What are they and do I need to be concerned?

Thanks!!!

 

[flower]

Hello,

I am new to the hobby, have a biocube 29 with 2 OC clowns, wheeler goby and clean up crew.
I went to the local pet store and saw these sponges and they said that I could have these in my tank.
They have been in there for about a week and I notice they have a couple of these little white clear white tube looking things on them.
What are they and do I need to be concerned?

Thanks!!!

Hi, welcome to the site. I don't know about the little white things, but it could be air bubbles. Since you are new I am asking some basic questions.
How long did you cycle your tank?
How long has your tank been up and running?
Are you testing your water with your own test kits?
When you moved the sponges from the store into the tank, did you make sure they were never exposed to the air?

Sponges don't like the light, they need really strong water flow to get food and keep them clear of algae, which can clog their pores and kill it. They can never be exposed to any air or they die. It takes a while, they die very slow... you will notice decaying patches if that happens.

 

[hackneyfl]

Hi!!! Thank you sooooo much for replying!!!

How long did you cycle your tank? I used nuri-seawater upon setup and then cycled for 4 weeks at which time I added the clean up crew (2 peppermint shrimp, 10 snails and 5 hermit crabs) After that I waited another 2 weeks before I added 2 Black Ice Clowns and a Wheeler Goby. Then I waited another week and bought the sponges they have been in there for about a week, I am pretty sure that I did my best to make sure they didn't hit the air.

I modified my biocube and added a heater in chamber 1 set at 78, middle chamber is an intank media rack; using floss, Seachem Purigen 100ml and Boyd Enterprises ABE16743 Chemipure Elite for Aquarium, 11.74-Ounce.

I have the pump circulation that came with the tank and added the Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump 425

I test my water at the LFS about 3 times a week and actually had tested today and everything good.

I try bumping with a fish net handle and wasted a air bubble.

I haven't seen any patches but will be watching it carefully!!

Please let me if I missed anything.

 

[flower]

Hi!!! Thank you sooooo much for replying!!!

How long did you cycle your tank? I used nuri-seawater upon setup and then cycled for 4 weeks at which time I added the clean up crew (2 peppermint shrimp, 10 snails and 5 hermit crabs) After that I waited another 2 weeks before I added 2 Black Ice Clowns and a Wheeler Goby. Then I waited another week and bought the sponges they have been in there for about a week, I am pretty sure that I did my best to make sure they didn't hit the air.

I modified my biocube and added a heater in chamber 1 set at 78, middle chamber is an intank media rack; using floss, Seachem Purigen 100ml and Boyd Enterprises ABE16743 Chemipure Elite for Aquarium, 11.74-Ounce.

I have the pump circulation that came with the tank and added the Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump 425

I test my water at the LFS about 3 times a week and actually had tested today and everything good.

I try bumping with a fish net handle and wasted a air bubble.

I haven't seen any patches but will be watching it carefully!!

Please let me if I missed anything.

Hi,
Well it sounds like you are doing pretty good thus far... did I understand correctly that you used the net handle and knocked an air bubble off the sponge? Sponges are not an easy critter to keep alive, an air bubble is not a good sign. So just do as you said, and keep an eye on it.

My personal opinion: You should get your own lab type test kits, master kits are cheaper than trying to purchase them individually. The temperature changes when you put it in bags to transport it to the fish store, for really accurate readings you should do your tests at home with your own kits. The LFS (local fish store) should only be a kind of double check that your readings are on the mark. If anything ever happens, you need to be able to check the parameters yourself.

Do you know about top off, and making sure you use FRESH RO water for that?
I don't want to just assume you do, so just in case you don't know: Do you have a hydrometer or refractometer, you need to keep the SG the same by keeping the water level at the starting point on your tank. Water evaporates, but the salt does not, so you only need to replace the evaporated portion with freshwater (Use only RO, reverse osmosis). Your own unit is best, but any grocery store that has a water refill station is using RO. Walmart sells it for 37 cents a gallon here by me.

A water change is removing an amount of saltwater from your tank, and replacing it with the same amount of new saltwater...just swapping the water out. This should be done once a month at least.

Happy reefing!

 

[hackneyfl]

Hi,
Well it sounds like you are doing pretty good thus far... did I understand correctly that you used the net handle and knocked an air bubble off the sponge? Sponges are not an easy critter to keep alive, an air bubble is not a good sign. So just do as you said, and keep an eye on it.

My personal opinion: You should get your own lab type test kits, master kits are cheaper than trying to purchase them individually. The temperature changes when you put it in bags to transport it to the fish store, for really accurate readings you should do your tests at home with your own kits. The LFS (local fish store) should only be a kind of double check that your readings are on the mark. If anything ever happens, you need to be able to check the parameters yourself.

Do you know about top off, and making sure you use FRESH RO water for that?
I don't want to just assume you do, so just in case you don't know: Do you have a hydrometer or refractometer, you need to keep the SG the same by keeping the water level at the starting point on your tank. Water evaporates, but the salt does not, so you only need to replace the evaporated portion with freshwater (Use only RO, reverse osmosis). Your own unit is best, but any grocery store that has a water refill station is using RO. Walmart sells it for 37 cents a gallon here by me.

A water change is removing an amount of saltwater from your tank, and replacing it with the same amount of new saltwater...just swapping the water out. This should be done once a month at least.

Happy reefing!

Sorry, meant to say that it wasn't an air bubble as I am assuming touching it with the handle would have released it.

I did buy a water test kit today but didn't buy the refractometer, but that will be my next purchase.

Yes, I have been using RO water for top offs and have been doing a 5 gallon water change every other week with nutr seawater.

Yes, I have learned that my LFS isn't really the best at providing the newbie with the best advise as they told me that the sponge would be easy and after some reading up on them they aren't. Am a little concerned having them in my tank but I will make sure to what for any changes in them.

Thank you for the response.

 

[flower]

Sorry, meant to say that it wasn't an air bubble as I am assuming touching it with the handle would have released it.

I did buy a water test kit today but didn't buy the refractometer, but that will be my next purchase.

Yes, I have been using RO water for top offs and have been doing a 5 gallon water change every other week with nutr seawater.

Yes, I have learned that my LFS isn't really the best at providing the newbie with the best advise as they told me that the sponge would be easy and after some reading up on them they aren't. Am a little concerned having them in my tank but I will make sure to what for any changes in them.

Thank you for the response.

Hi,

I love sponges, and I have had luck with all but the tall cactus looking ones. As long as there is good water flow, no algae build up (keep it out of the light)... and have never been exposed to air, they should be okay. Post some pictures of the full tank, like I said, it sounds like you did everything right thus far.