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Filter sponge bad?


metal_blowfish

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metal_blowfish

I have an aquaclear 200 on the back of my 20 gallon and I was wondering is it bad having 2 sponges in there? I have some live rock in there , a yellow clown goby, and a few anenomies that hitched a ride on the rock. I heard that sponges are nitrate factories, is this true? Also , what should I feed to the anenomies? Can anyone recomend a good food for them? I know there's food in those bottles but I just dont know what kind is best to get. I bought 5 pounds of live rock myself and it has this type of of anenomie that has a bunch of little tenticles with even smalller ones at the head and its overall shape is round. It's really small right now. I also have these other ones that were on some live rock my dads friend gave me (about 20 pounds for free!) and he said the anenomie is generally not wanted in a reef tank because they grow like mad but asked me if i wanted some anyways, of course I said yes. It has a short stubby bass and a a round plat with tenticles on the outside edge. Anyone know the names of these? So any info about the sponge pad,feeding the anenomies and what kind they are would greatly help! - Andrew

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LOL. Metal you have some more reading to do. Not a flame, just a suggestion. If they truly look like the picture then consider yourself lucky. Your dad's friend gave you some free corals. However, if it is truly undersirable as your fathers friend said, then you probably have aipatasia.

 

Does it look like this:

 

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/aipatasia.htm

 

Or this:

 

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/sh...&cat=500&page=2

 

Could also be a majone anemone, sorry no pic.

 

What do you think?

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Oh and by the way, I would remove the sponges from your filter. I put mine in every now and then for only a night or so at a time to help clean the water. They will become nitrate sinks though so I wouldnt leave any in all the time. ALso, identify those anemones before you feed. Dont want to feed a nuisance and have it begin to grow on you. More difficult to get rid of when they get bigger. Good luck!

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metal_blowfish

Yup, it's definatly the first one. So what exactly makes these bad anenome's? Just that they will quickly grow and fill up the tank and kill other types of anenomes?

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Well I think there are a few reasons. One reason is that they tend to grow very rapidly and proliferate quickly throughout the tank. Another is that they can be difficult to kill once they reach a certain size. The worst is that large ones sting and kill not only coral, but could also hurt your fish that happens to rub up against them. There are a few solutions on how to get rid of them. Injecting hot water, lemon juice, Joe's juice, etc. Do a search for aiptasia and see what you get. Also be careful with Joe's juice. ALthough it works, I think the jury is still out onwhether it also hurts some types of sensitive corals. Most people suffer through aiptasia at some point in their reefing so be glad to know there are many suggestions out there. Good luck man!

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got a little zoo frag for like 2 bucks the other day did the old lemon juice trick to the apistasia and now i have 3 zoo polyps instead of one hahahahha

so anyway it works

kill the things

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metal_blowfish

I have all the aptastia on one rock and i havnt seen any new ones growing. I can stil remove the rock with all the stuff on it but I dont know if i want to kill it..it looks kind of cool. I dont want it to kill my small zoo though and I dont want it to kill my fish..... btw, do zoo's need strong lights? because currently im running stock till i can afford retrofit ones. I have just the regular flourescent tube that came with the 20 gal.

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I would think that the zoo might be ok for a little while. WHen do you plan on getting the retrofit? Why not reacclimate him to your father's friends tank and store it there until you get your lights. In the mean time, move the zoo up to the top. That might help him get some of the light it needs. I would definitely recommend killing the guy unless you want a tank of aiptasia. May not sting too much right now, but I have seen those things grow to the size of half-dollars. I have also heard that they are harder to kill when they get bigger. Just suggestions of course.

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