Critters In The Filter!

[ox5477]

Hey guys. Did a water change last night and cleaned things up a little, especially the HOB filter i'm using for more water volume as well as holding my phos remover. I didnt notice until i went to replace the lid of the filter but it looks like I have 5 or 6 good size sponges and a couple fans extended out too. I know both of these are very beneficial to the tank and knew that the filter could turn into a little refugium but just suprised me to see such big guys in there. Should i expect to see any other critters in the filter as it is a sheltered and dark environment with high flow?


I continue to be amazed with my nano tank at the amount of life that apears out of seemingly nothing. Nature is amazing! I think I may have seen a small 4 mm across aptasia and keeping my eye on it closely as I have only seen it out once. I've been turning my light on at night to see if it is just coming out at night but haven't caught it again. Hopefully it is just a fan which I would love as I don't have any in the main tank

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, the amount of life is amazing isnt it? Those organisms you found in your filter are refferred to as "benthic" organisms. They like to exhist in the absence of light. If you have enough LR, you might find some in dark spots underneath rocks too. In fact, if you check out www.reefvideos.com one of the earlier ones details someone creating a benthic zone in his sump to promote these little guys to help with filtration