Sea sponge feed recommendations?

[Tinnerito]

Hey all! The amount of sea sponges in my aquarium is set to increase, thus I worry about competition over food. The sea sponges in my tanks are just consuming the micro-planktons, silicates, and diatoms, but is it possible these will deplete? Should I start supplemeting food? For those who keep sponges, are there any live feeds for sponges you recommend? I've heard of a few, but I'm not sure if they're right for me just yet.
Also, is there a way to see how many silicates or planktonic organisms are living in my tank? Or is it simply a matter of if my sponges are healthy? My sponges have been very healthy as of late, but I believe it is because I had a recent diatom bloom in the tank, therefore increasing the silicate content. I currently am only dosing phytoplankton.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[SantaMonica]

Sounds like an all-sponge tank.

You can measure silicates. And you can view microbes with a scope.

I recall some type of food called Sponge Power.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hey all! The amount of sea sponges in my aquarium is set to increase, thus I worry about competition over food. The sea sponges in my tanks are just consuming the micro-planktons, silicates, and diatoms, but is it possible these will deplete? Should I start supplemeting food? For those who keep sponges, are there any live feeds for sponges you recommend? I've heard of a few, but I'm not sure if they're right for me just yet.
Also, is there a way to see how many silicates or planktonic organisms are living in my tank? Or is it simply a matter of if my sponges are healthy? My sponges have been very healthy as of late, but I believe it is because I had a recent diatom bloom in the tank, therefore increasing the silicate content. I currently am only dosing phytoplankton.

I think you have a few things mixed up. Diatoms do not produce silcates, they use them to build their cell walls, if you are having diatom blooms then you have plenty of silicates for your sponges too.
Live phytoplankton should be great food for your sponges!

 

[Tinnerito]

Sounds like an all-sponge tank.

You can measure silicates. And you can view microbes with a scope.

I recall some type of food called Sponge Power.

It is a macroalgae dominant tank, but I do have some sponges to add some spice. What should I measure silicates with?

 

[Tinnerito]

I think you have a few things mixed up. Diatoms do not produce silcates, they use them to build their cell walls, if you are having diatom blooms then you have plenty of silicates for your sponges too.
Live phytoplankton should be great food for your sponges!

Somebody told me diatoms release silicates a while back. Where do silicates come from then? Are they a limited tank resource? Is there a way to have a still supply?

 

[BristleWormHater]

It is a macroalgae dominant tank, but I do have some sponges to add some spice. What should I measure silicates with?

You can buy a silicate test kit.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Somebody told me diatoms release silicates a while back. Where do silicates come from then? Are they a limited tank resource? Is there a way to have a still supply?

Silicates come into the water as your rock and sand degrade. It seems like it can also come from salt mix.

 

[Tinnerito]

Silicates come into the water as your rock and sand degrade. It seems like it can also come from salt mix.

Good to know. I appreciate it!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I regularly dosed silicate.

Silica In Reef Aquariums

Why would I recommend dosing silica? Largely because creatures in our tanks use it, the concentrations in our tanks (at least in mine) are below natural levels, and the sponges, mollusks, and diatoms may not be getting enough to thrive.

reefs.com

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Hey all! The amount of sea sponges in my aquarium is set to increase, thus I worry about competition over food. The sea sponges in my tanks are just consuming the micro-planktons, silicates, and diatoms, but is it possible these will deplete? Should I start supplemeting food? For those who keep sponges, are there any live feeds for sponges you recommend? I've heard of a few, but I'm not sure if they're right for me just yet.
Also, is there a way to see how many silicates or planktonic organisms are living in my tank? Or is it simply a matter of if my sponges are healthy? My sponges have been very healthy as of late, but I believe it is because I had a recent diatom bloom in the tank, therefore increasing the silicate content. I currently am only dosing phytoplankton.

I'm late, but for feeding/current sponge care advice (assuming ornamental sponges, not cryptic or invasive ones which seem to do fine pretty well no matter what we do):

Food/feeding:
-Isochrysis galbana (T-Iso) or a blend of phyto containing it is a good idea.
-Bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM), Particulate Organic Matter (POM), possibly Diatoms, etc. are good food for sponges, so things like stirring the sandbed and basting waste off of the rocks in the tank with the sponge may be helpful (I know this may not be possible depending on the tank, but finding ways to get bacteria into the water for the sponge to filter is a good idea).

Your sponges probably won't feed on Reef Roids, as the food in Reef Roids is too big (I've seen it stated at 150-200 microns, most of the food consumed by sponges is DOM, which is smaller than 1 micron; even the larger foods like the T-Iso are only like 6 microns at the largest).

For keeping sponges, I'd suggest reading through the following threads (and any links to other threads in my posts in them):

Sponge Tank

Does anyone have experience keeping a sponge only aquarium? If so where can I purchase sponges. I've only found a few online.

www.reef2reef.com

How hard/easy to grow sponge?

I want to be able to grow sponge for my angelfish. Could I do it in a tank I grow macro algae. It's very nutrient rich water, it's my molly breeding tank. Macro algae grows well in the tank with no doesing. The mollies keep it prestienly clean of unwanted algae and only nip here and there on the...

www.reef2reef.com

Is This Ball Sponge a Goner?

Hi all! First of all, I know the typical spiel - sponges are nearly impossible to keep and feed. Despite this, at the end of December I decided to try one. I feed phyto daily and blast it with frozen food juices and kick up microfauna in the sand for it but not sure it’s enough. I had it...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[damsels are not mean]

Many reef sponges (and I suspect all or most of the ones people are able to keep alive in captivity) get the majority of their energy from dissolved organic carbon. Basically byproducts of photosynthesis from algae (including "plants" or macros) and corals. I suspect whatever you feed is kind of irrelevant and success comes from how much photosynthesis you can get going in the tank.