Sponge

Sponge

Sponge JE3 BE3.png: Infobox image for Sponge the block in Minecraft

Wet Sponge JE2 BE2.png: Infobox image for Sponge the block in Minecraft

Invicon Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: SpongeInvicon Wet Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Wet Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Wet Sponge
Renewable

No

Stackable

Yes (64)

Tool

Blast resistance

0.6

Hardness

0.6

Luminous

No

Transparent

No

Flammable

No

Catches fire
from lava

No

Map color (JE)


 18 COLOR_YELLOW

A sponge is a block that can be placed to remove water in an area around itself. This turns it into a wet sponge, which can be smelted or placed in the Nether to dry it to be reused. Sponges can only be found in ocean monuments.

Obtaining

Breaking

Either type of sponge can be mined by hand, or with any tool, dropping itself as an item; however, hoes break sponges the fastest compared to other tools.

Block
Hardness 0.6
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default 0.9
BlockSprite oak-planks.png: Sprite image for oak-planks in MinecraftWooden 0.45
BlockSprite cobblestone.png: Sprite image for cobblestone in MinecraftStone 0.25
ItemSprite copper-ingot.png: Sprite image for copper-ingot in MinecraftCopper
0.2
ItemSprite iron-ingot.png: Sprite image for iron-ingot in MinecraftIron 0.15
ItemSprite diamond.png: Sprite image for diamond in MinecraftDiamond 0.15
ItemSprite netherite-ingot.png: Sprite image for netherite-ingot in MinecraftNetherite 0.1
ItemSprite gold-ingot.png: Sprite image for gold-ingot in MinecraftGolden 0.1
Legend
  • incorrect tool, drops nothing
  • correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
  • correct tool, drops the block itself
  • italicized can be instant mined
  1. These durations ignore other influential factors (e.g. Mining Fatigue), and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Natural generation

Ocean monuments can have "sponge rooms". Each room contains an average of 30 wet sponges. See Ocean Monument/Structure for details.

Mob loot

Elder guardians

Java Edition:

MobQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]1100.00%1.001100.00%1.001100.00%1.001100.00%1.00

MobQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]111111111111

MobAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]11 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)
Average1 (1.00)1 (1.00)1 (1.00)1 (1.00)

Drops1
MobExpected Number of Kill
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]1.001.001.001.00

  1. Only when killed by a player or a tamed wolf.

Bedrock Edition:

MobQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]1100.00%1.001100.00%1.001100.00%1.001100.00%1.00

MobQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]111111111111

MobAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]11 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)1 (100.00%)
Average1 (1.00)1 (1.00)1 (1.00)1 (1.00)

Drops1
MobExpected Number of Kill
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Elder Guardian[A]1.001.001.001.00

  1. Only when killed by a player.

Smelting

A wet sponge can be dried in a furnace, making the sponge reusable.

Ingredients Smelting recipe Description
Wet sponge + any fuel
Invicon Wet Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Wet Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Wet Sponge with description: Wet Sponge
Invicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Charcoal.png: Inventory sprite for Charcoal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Charcoal with description: CharcoalInvicon Oak Log.png: Inventory sprite for Oak Log in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Oak Log with description: LogInvicon Oak Planks.png: Inventory sprite for Oak Planks in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Oak Planks with description: Overworld PlanksInvicon Lava Bucket.png: Inventory sprite for Lava Bucket in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Lava Bucket with description: Lava BucketInvicon Block of Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Block of Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Block of Coal with description: Block of Coal

Invicon Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Sponge0.15
If a bucket is in the fuel slot at the time the sponge completes its drying, the water drains into the bucket, leaving a bucket of water in the fuel slot. Otherwise, the water just evaporates.

Drying

A wet sponge placed in the Nether dries out instantly with a puff of steam and turns into a normal sponge.

In Bedrock Edition, a wet sponge placed in any dry biome in the Overworld dries out after a few minutes and turns into a normal sponge.

In Bedrock Edition, if a normal sponge comes into contact with water in a dry biome, it absorbs the water and immediately dries out with a puff of steam.

Usage

A sponge absorbing water in a pond.

A sponge can be used to turn water into air by "absorbing" the water. A sponge instantly absorbs nearby water when it is placed next to water or when water comes into contact with it. Sponges immediately turn wet upon absorption and do not absorb any more water afterward. Wet sponges drip small water particles. Sponges in item form do not absorb water or become wet.

A sponge absorbs both flowing and source blocks of water up to 7 blocks away (taken as a taxicab distance) in all six directions around itself. Instead of a cube or a sphere, this effectively encloses the volume of an octahedron with vertices placed 7 units away from the center in each direction due to the game's extensive use of taxicab distance. A sponge does not absorb more than 118 blocks of water however, and water closest to the sponge is absorbed first. The absorption propagates only between adjacent water blocks and does not "jump over" non-water blocks, including air.

Sounds

Generic

Sponge

Java Edition:

BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft sponge sound type
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.sponge.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.sponge.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.sponge.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.20.516
​Something falls on a blockEntity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.sponge.fallsubtitles.block.generic.fall0.50.7516
​FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.sponge.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016

Bedrock Edition:

BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft sponge sound type
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksOnce the block has brokenbreak.sponge0.70.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placedplace.sponge0.80.8-1.0
BlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.sponge0.30.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.sponge0.41.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.sponge0.31.0

Wet sponge

Java Edition:

BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft wet_sponge sound type
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.wet_sponge.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.wet_sponge.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.wet_sponge.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.250.516
​Something falls on a blockEntity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.wet_sponge.fallsubtitles.block.generic.fall0.50.7516
​FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.wet_sponge.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016

Bedrock Edition:

BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft wet_sponge sound type
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksOnce the block has brokenbreak.wet_sponge1.00.8
BlocksWhen the block is placedplace.wet_sponge1.00.8
BlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.wet_sponge0.30.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagestep.wet_sponge1.01.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.wet_sponge0.21.0
BlocksJumping from the blockstep.wet_sponge0.121.1
BlocksFalling on the block without fall damagestep.wet_sponge0.41.0


Unique

Java Edition

Sounds
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Sponge driesBlocksWhen a wet sponge is dried in the Netherblock.wet_sponge.driessubtitles.block.wet_sponge.dries1.00.7-0.8416
​Sponge sucksBlocksWhen a sponge sucks up waterblock.sponge.absorbsubtitles.block.sponge.absorb0.81.016

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksWhen a wet sponge is dried in the Nether or dry biomerandom.fizz1.00.6-0.8
BlocksWhen a sponge sucks up waterdig.stone1.00.8-1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tagsTranslation key
BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft SpongespongeBlock & Itemmineable/hoeblock.minecraft.sponge
BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft Wet Spongewet_spongeBlock & Itemmineable/hoeblock.minecraft.wet_sponge

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierAlias ID Numeric ID FormItem ID[i 1]Translation key
BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft Spongespongesponge / 019Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]
tile.sponge.dry.name
BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft Wet Spongewet_spongesponge / 11239Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]
(Numeric: -984)
tile.sponge.wet.name
  1. ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. a b Available with /give command.
  3. a b The block's direct item form has the same ID as the block.

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
Dry SpellDry a in a furnace15Bronze

History

This section is missing information about: A single pixel in the sponge texture may have changed circa Beta 1.2; been meaning to research this for a while but never got around to it.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition Classic
May 24, 2009Sponge was suggested on the TIGSource forums. Notch later approved this suggestion.
June 16, 2009Sponges were tested by Notch.
0.0.19a Added sponges.
The sponge is a temporary fix to stop water from flooding until finite water is implemented.[1]
Sponges soak up water in a 5×5×5 volume around it, and would decay.
0.0.19a_01Sponges no longer decay.
Java Edition Indev
0.3120100201-2227Sponges now soak up infinite water sources and infinite lava sources. This is despite the fact that they do not delete normal lava.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414Due to Notch reworking many parts of the game to allow for infinite terrain generation the whole liquid system from Indev including sponges becomes non-functional. A new system for liquids was added in a later version of Infdev, though sponges weren't touched as they were no longer necessary.
Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-releaseSponges have now become available in Creative mode.
Java Edition
1.2.112w07aPrior to this version, sponges could be used in redstone builds for updating blocks, in conjunction with BUDs (block update detectors): if a sponge was placed and then removed, all blocks within a 7×7×7 range would be updated.[2] The cause of this was some remaining code for the sponge's water removing property.
1.8June 8, 2014 Jeb tweeted that the ability to erase water blocks would be returned to the sponge. The linked video revealed that the sponge would become wet once it absorbs water.
14w25a Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
The texture of sponge has been changed.
Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
14w25bA wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
1.915w43aElder guardians now drop dry sponges instead of wet ones.
1.1116w33aElder guardians now drop wet sponges on player kills, rather than dry sponges.[3]
1.1418w43a The textures of sponges have been changed.
1.1519w36aWet Sponges now dry out when placed in the Nether.
1.1620w12aSponges and wet sponges can now be broken faster using hoes.
1.20.223w33aAdded unique sounds for dry and wet sponges, and sponges absorbing water.
1.20.524w09aAdded sound event block.wet_sponge.dries, replacing block.fire.extinguish when a wet sponge dries out in the Nether.[4]
Pocket Edition Alpha
October 15, 2013Johan Bernhardsson announces sponges for 0.8.0 on Twitter.
v0.8.0build 1 Added sponges.
Sponges are currently purely decorative and only available in Creative mode.
v0.16.0build 1 Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
The texture of sponge has been changed.
Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
A wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
Unknown
?Sponges dry out in hot biomes.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.13beta 1.2.13.8Added drowned, which rarely drop sponges.
1.4.0beta 1.2.20.1Drowned no longer drop sponge.
1.6.0beta 1.6.0.5Elder guardians now drop wet sponges rather than dry.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Sponges now immediately dry out when placed in the Nether.
The textures of sponges have been changed.
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.57Sponges and wet sponges can now be broken faster using hoes.
1.20.30Preview 1.20.20.22Sponges no longer make a sound when absorbing water[5]
1.21.50Preview 1.21.50.20Sponges and wet sponges now make the same sounds as Java Edition[6]
Sponges now make a sound when absorbing water again[7]
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU1CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1 Added sponges.
Sponges are currently unobtainable.
TU5Sponges have now become available in Creative mode.
TU28CU161.231.191.19 The texture of sponge has been changed.
TU31CU191.221.221.22Patch 3Sponges are now obtainable in Survival mode.
Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
Sponges have been removed from the custom superflat block selection menu.
TU43CU331.361.361.36Patch 13Elder guardians now drop dry sponges instead of wet ones.
TU54CU441.521.521.52Patch 241.0.4Elder guardians now drop wet sponges again.
TU56CU481.551.551.55Patch 261.0.6Elder guardians now drop dry sponges again.
TU69 1.761.761.76Patch 38 Elder guardians now drop wet sponges again.
1.90 The textures of sponges have been changed.
Sponges now dry out when placed in the Nether and warm biomes after some time.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added sponges.
1.3.12 Added wet sponges.
The texture of sponge has been changed.
Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
A wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
?Moved sponge from the Decorations tab to the Building Blocks tab in the Creative inventory.​

Data history

Java Edition
1.814w06aSponges now use the newly-implemented model json file models/block/cube.json; previously the geometry was defined in the game code itself.
1.1317w47aThe two different wet block states for the sponge ID have been split up into their own IDs.
Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 19.
Bedrock Edition
1.21.30Preview 1.21.30.22The different block states for the sponge ID have been split up into their own IDs.

Issues

Issues relating to "Sponge" or "Wet Sponge" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

References

  1. "Sponges won’t vanish randomly now, and glass looks better."The Word of Notch, Jun 20th, 2009
  2. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nZK2glVsIa8
  3. MC-92294 — Elder Guardians drop normal sponge instead of wet sponge — resolved as "Fixed".
  4. MC-98316 — Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction
  5. MCPE-173582
  6. MCPE-174345 — resolved as "Fixed".
  7. MCPE-173582 — resolved as "Fixed".

External links

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