Sponge with Air bubles

[nanome]

Hi all,

I just bought an orange sponge, don't know its name nor species, the sales guy doesn't know either. (I just couldn't resist because it looks nice and at a good price for its size.) The sales guy told me to keep the sponge submerged, and not expose it to air at any time for fear of air getting into its crevices. If exposing to air is harmful, what about air bubbles from the air pump. (I currently use air bubles mostly for nice effects, and to increase oxygen in the tank.) Does it mean air bubbles and sponge are incompatible?

Thanks

 

[dasaphrota]

I know that alot of corals can be irritated by having alot of small air bubbles and would asume that sponges are the same way.

 

[wrightme43]

That is a good question, and I do not know the answer. I know that sponges have a hard time expelling air from thier tissue. I would assume (with a grain of salt please)lol that as long as it is not directly in the path of the air bubbles it would be ok. Just a guess so keep up your research. HTH. Steve

 

[nanome]

What about air bubbles in nature caused by waves beating down on reef to mix air into water column? Wouldn't these bubles hurt the sponges? Also in a reef tank when the water level gets below the power head, the power head blows a tremendous amount of bubles into the tank.

 

[DonW]

The sales guy is correct. They have to be kept underwater constantly. They pump massive amounts of water compared to their size. If you run your tank low and blow lots of bubble for a extended period of time it will damage the sponge.
I think the biggest problem is that most dont understand that there is not enough of the right kind of bacteria in our low nutrient systems to keep sponges. They are usually short lived.

Don

 

[spongebob lover]

how long can a sponge live? and i have another question, can flat worms affect a sponge? because i used to have flat worms or i should say i have flat worms but just way less than what i used to have in my tank. The thing is would it affect the sponge? and i also heard that sponges and protein skimmers don't go together because the sponge eats the proteins that the skimmer takes away is this true ?