Sponge? Maybe? Pics inside.

[sfoister]

Okay so I recently talked my dad out of using tap water and pool water for water changes. We just recently got our last batch of rock for the tank and there are some things I need help ID'ing. And a few pictures just to show off the new setup.
You can see orange and red blobs in these pictures. There is also a white sponge with a bit of pink inside of it on one of our tonga rocks. Are these all sponges or no? Do they have an official name? Or just sponge?
Also, you can see a bunch of spaghetti worms on some of the rock pictures.

 

[sfoister]

Some more just for kicks. We have about 20 more LBS of LR curing in a 10 gallon on the floor so this should be going in within the next 3 weeks or so.
The Chromis is a freakin bionic fish. This fish has literally gone through hell and is the hardiest little thing I have ever had.

 

[sfoister]

One more.
We found these barnacles in a booth at the planty city strawberry festival for $2 and thought it would make a good home for something small.

 

[cjason3041]

ye sthey are sponges...i don't know the name...i think they are more prominent in a newer tank... i used to have them but that was about a year ago...they kind of dissapeared

 

[sfoister]

The orange and red ones came on the rock, and as you can tell they are pretty well established rocks, covered in orange and purple coralline. I hope they stay. They make great kodak moments.

 

[cjason3041]

yah they do look nice...mine were all white...kind of unsightly...

 

[fishwanabe]

sfoister-those barnacles are great looking :cheer: two questions for you, do you live in Fl. and what did you have to do to the barnacles before you adding them to your tank? just a good wash or more...I live close to Venice Fl. and have been downtown in some of the shops and they have wonderful pieces that I would love to add but I'm afraid that they could have some kind of chemicals on them. Thanks

 

[sfoister]

Originally Posted by fishwanabe
sfoister-those barnacles are great looking :cheer: two questions for you, do you live in Fl. and what did you have to do to the barnacles before you adding them to your tank? just a good wash or more...I live close to Venice Fl. and have been downtown in some of the shops and they have wonderful pieces that I would love to add but I'm afraid that they could have some kind of chemicals on them. Thanks
Thanks for the compliments, I'll pass them along to my father.
We just gave them a quick wash with hot water and quick scrub with a soft bristled brush. I can't imagine they would use anything horribly toxic on them other than maybe a bleach or something but that would be washed off easily with hot water.
Our little chromis seems to poke his head in them occassionally but he's a little too big for them.

 

[sfoister]

Sorry, yes, I do live in FL. I live in Brandon, right outside of Tampa.

 

[cnall]

I added some similar barnacles about four months ago...I just boiled them then used a small brush on the inside. I haven't had a problem with mine and my fish love them

 

[reefkprz]

Yeah they are sponges. Sponges are a diverse group of sometimes common types, with about 5000 species known across the world, its pretty hard to Id them off hand except the most commonly collected ones. Sponges are one of my favorite marine critters but, I cant off hand tell you the exact name applied to each type of sponge pictured but if you want something cool to call them they are all members of the phylum: Porifera (if you google images and Porifera you may find a pic of those with more information on them, I would but I dont have the time to sort through a thousand pictures at the moment)

 

[sfoister]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
Yeah they are sponges. Sponges are a diverse group of sometimes common types, with about 5000 species known across the world, its pretty hard to Id them off hand except the most commonly collected ones. Sponges are one of my favorite marine critters but, I cant off hand tell you the exact name applied to each type of sponge pictured but if you want something cool to call them they are all members of the phylum: Porifera (if you google images and Porifera you may find a pic of those with more information on them, I would but I dont have the time to sort through a thousand pictures at the moment)

Thanks, I will look into that.

 

[marinfire1]

where did u get ur live rock at?

 

[inawe]

What is all the green stuff growing?

 

[sfoister]

We got our live rock from multiple LFS's over a span of a month, we would wait for rock to come in so we could hand pick what we got.
Pet Mart in Tampa, FL
Creature Castle in Valrico, FL
Aquarium Creations in Brandon, FL
Aqua Star in Brandon, FL
The green stuff that is growing is mostly macroalgae. We picked up a huge handfull of it for $5 and brought it home during the cycle. During the cycle some of it died off and we had to be sure to remove the dead stuff before it rotted but most of it lived and is now thriving in our sand bed and is providing food for some of the snails and the chromis graze on it occassionally. Plus, it adds movement to the tank during an otherwise very, very, boring cycle.

 

[sfoister]

Oh, and all the nasty algae on the back of the tank is mostly gone now, we added 5 turbos after I took this pic and they have done a great job cleaning the tank up.