Feather Dusters Everywhere!

[Spiker]

8O It's my fist time here so if I do something stupid, please forgive me.

I have a 180 gallon reef tank with the sump positioned one floor down in the basement. The sump consists of a 20 gallon tote overflowing into two 55 gallon plastic drums.

I had two large feather dusters in my tank for about a year and then they both disappeared. About two weeks later, I saw a plume of white "smoke" coming from below the sandy bottom. Now (a month later) my sump and both barrels are full of tiny feather dusters (thousands of them) ranging in size from 1/8" to 1/2".

Q: Is this harmful to my tank?
Q: Can I expect them to continue to grow down there?
Q: Is it possible to collect them and place some in my tank?

I would greatly appreciate any information or leads.

Thanks,

Spiker

 

[Reefguide]

Did they retract maybe. or did the whole thing vanish? I've been told that they retract and "sort of" shed ! They may have spawned and ended up in your 55g sumps... nothing to worry about... feather duster are not a problem.

 

[Spiker]

They could have shed. They haven't re-surfaced yet. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Anonymous]

Q: Is this harmful to my tank?
I think it's a good thing. An indicator of healthy water, with enough food for filter feeders to reproduce.

Q: Can I expect them to continue to grow down there?
I would assume so, if they have enough food to reproduce it would seem to me that that conditions are good enough for them to continue to grow.

Q: Is it possible to collect them and place some in my tank? I have scooped up colonial feather dusters and "transplanted" them in other places in my tank before, it works fairly well, most of them suvived. I think I may have squashed a few in the process.

 

[Spiker]

Thanks!

 

[wetpetman]

I know that this has nothing to do with your feather dusters, but I just posted a question about what size pump do I need?

What size pump are you using to return water to your tank?

I am setting up a 125 gal with a 100 gal sump one floor down and nobody can tell me what size pump I need.

I figured since you are running about the same amount of water through your system I would see what you are doing.

Thanks

 

[Spiker]

I installed a Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC. With a lift of about nine feet, I get a return of around 625-675 GPH. This would be more than enough for your tank.

DrsFosterSmith.com has them for about $130. I keep a spare in case of breakdown but mine has been runnung well for over two years now.

 

[Anonymous]

Spiker-
do the feathers in your sump have a hard, or soft, tube?

 

[Spiker]

The tubes are hard and white and about half the diameter of a pencil lead.

 

[Anonymous]

these are not the same species of feather duster as the ones you described in your first post.(i'm assuming that the two large ones were of the type similiar to the 'hawaiian' dusters commonly available in the hobby).

your original dusters probly just died,and the 'plume of smoke' you observed is not related as a connection between them and the dusters you're seeing in your sump.

the small dusters you're seeing in the sump are a different type/species- however, they are certainly beneficial to your system, and cool, anyway.
you may find some info on them in the hithchikers faq.

they will most probly continue to thrive and spread in your sump-i've seen them reach quite extensive numbers in sumps-to the point where they cam actually create the basis for new live rock!

good luck, hth

 

[Anonymous]

here's some more info,w/additional links

 

[Spiker]

Thanks