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Unread 07/25/2009, 04:06 AM   #23
subarcticreef
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 61
Quote:
Originally posted by drstupid
(revisting this thread after my wry "coincidence" comment :-)

every tank i've ever personally known has gone through a cyano bloom, and it disappears practically overnight once whatever needed to get naturally in balance got there. i don't know the history of your system, but don't think it's unusual for systems to go through a cyano phase and to have it end suddenly. that would be my argument for coincidence.

i can't imagine an overnight change would come from the cyano being outcompeted by a freshly introduced specimen, so it would have to be some sort of chemical reaction to something the sponge produces, probably produced in large quantities after the stress of transfer and introduction. i don't see how it could affect things so quickly otherwise.

if the cyano bloom wasn't just a phase naturally ending, then there is something fundamentally wrong with your system that's allowing it to prosper (flow and/or nutrients) and this doesn't seem like the best way to control it, especially if the sponge is as invasive as it sounds. moving the sponge colonies to your sump or a seperate fuge inline with the system would seem to be wise if this is something you do want to keep permanently for cyano control.

i'd still pursue whatever the underlying cause of the outbreak was if you do attribute its demise to the introduction of the sponge.

my 2 pfennigs.

on an unrelated note, i lived in switzerland for a few years, and the hobby did not have a broad base there at the time. i was only ever able to find one reef store, in zuerich. i can't remember its name, it was over by a hotel with a very nice piano bar. it was small, very clean (of course!), and only had dimly lit tanks with softies, xenia, polyps and mushrooms, no SPS at all. i knew no one professionally or personally who maintained a reef system.

that was 20 years ago, so i'm sure things have changed, and i am curious what the state of the hobby is there. i still have fond memories of the place, know a few expats who settled there permanently, and try to imagine what it would have been like to have stayed longer. it would have been a challenge to put together a reef in zuerich at the time i lived there without many trips to germany with rubbermaid in the trunk.

(i don't mean to hijack your thread, feel free to PM me if you'd like to keep it on topic)
I do not think I ever had a cyano bloom in the tank, not even in the beginning (started it in May of last year). The cyanos grew in relatively small patches in two of the corners of the tank where, I guess, the circulation was less than optimal. Anyway, I had it there for, I think, 9 months. And then it vanished after the Collospongia was introduced. I am perfectly open to that this could be a coincidence or that the tank only required a small change for it to become less habitable for the slime. But if we take a closer look at the Collospongia, this COULD make sense. First, its tissue contains large quantities of cyanos with -I guess- roughly the same requirements for nutrients as the slime. Second, sponges are effective pumps that expose their symbiotic cyanos to whatever the water contains in terms of nutrients. Third, cyanos are known for producing many different toxins of which several have antibiotic properties. It would not surprise me if at least some of these toxins are used in "chemical warfare" with other competing cyanos. My guess is that there could be a combination of "chemical warfare" and competition (assuming limiting amounts of nutrients for the cyanos) going on.
Anyway, I am perfectly open to my observation being just a coincidence and therefore it would be interesting to hear what experiences other Collospongia owners have.

The salt water hobby has really taken off here. I live in the Basel area (right on the borders between Switzerland, France and Germany). Within 30 mins we have at least 5 saltwater dealers and the selection of animals and equipment is just amazing. I guess it is the proximity to Germany, where the modern version of the hobby was invented, that has triggered this.


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