Algae blooms when switching tanks?

[Kynzo]

I've been having issues with algae since switching to a bigger tank about 3 months ago. I used my old sand and old rock that was cycled. The only thing I added was 1 more large live rock. Since the move I've been seeing cyano slowly get worse to the point it's at now. It's not overrunning everything but it's making my sand bed hideous. I went through it before when my tank was initially maturing and it did eventually get better, but I'm a bit confused as to why it's happening again since everything was from that previous tank. Not only cyano, but I've been getting a lot of film algae on the glass and seeing patches of green hair algae on rocks. I'm taking it as the maturing cycle but I thought it was strange.
No3:5-10ppm
Po4:can't really tell with salifert but either 0-0.03.
Anyone experience anything like this when switching tanks?

 

[SPR1968]

I can’t answer the specific question, but I can bump the thread to see if we can get you some help

 

[Timfish]

I often see nuisance algae blooms when moving or upgrading systems or just redoing the aquascaping to accomadate coral growth. I may also see them after power or equipment failures. All I'll do is manual removal and maybe a little H2O2 sometimes. Depending on the severity of the disruption and how aggressively I remove the nuisance algae it can be anywhere from a couple months to 6 or 7 months for the ecosystem to correct itself. Stainless steel straws help get algae around corals with minimum disturbance. Paper towels are great for actually removing algae from glass (magnets just knock it off and a lot resettles quickly).

Steel Straws


Paper towels for algae

 

[Kynzo]

I often see nuisance algae blooms when moving or upgrading systems or just redoing the aquascaping to accomadate coral growth. I may also see them after power or equipment failures. All I'll do is manual removal and maybe a little H2O2 sometimes. Depending on the severity of the disruption and how aggressively I remove the nuisance algae it can be anywhere from a couple months to 6 or 7 months for the ecosystem to correct itself. Stainless steel straws help get algae around corals with minimum disturbance. Paper towels are great for actually removing algae from glass (magnets just knock it off and a lot resettles quickly).

Steel Straws


Paper towels for algae

Thanks for the insight, you make some good points. I'll have to try the stainless steel straws and I never really considered magnets redistributing the algae while paper towels actually remove it.

 

[REM2021]

I'm in a similar situation, one month in from having upgraded my tank. I did not clean my rocks as thoroughly as I probably should have before the transfer and brought a few spots of cyano with them, which has spread over most of my rockwork. I'm removing it when I do my water changes but otherwise just giving it time to stabilize and eventually die off. Just in the last few days I've had more film algae, but I think that may be because I'm cleaning my viewing surfaces a lot less in general than the prior tank (the new one is my first acrylic tank and I'm a little paranoid about scratching it, so I'm waiting longer than I usually would before reaching for the magnets). Water parameters all look good and everyone seems happy, so I'm just riding it out.

Love the steel straw trick, I'll be trying that out on my next water change!

 

[mdb_talon]

Using old sand can release a lot of nutrients. Cyano can also significantly impacted by flow which likely has changed.

 

[Timfish]

I'm in a similar situation, one month in from having upgraded my tank. I did not clean my rocks as thoroughly as I probably should have before the transfer and brought a few spots of cyano with them,. . .

Love the steel straw trick, I'll be trying that out on my next water change!

Thank you!

DOn't beat yourself up about not cleaning rock thuroghly in an upgrade of move. (I prefer not to do much if nay myself.) There's no way you can get rid of or stop cyano from growing in a reef system. Reef ssytems have competing microbial processes and it's the equilibrium of the ecosystem that will promote nuisance algae or corals. Any disturbance to a system wether it's a dead fish, a sudden change in temperature or nutrients or some other variable will disrupt the equilibrium and potentially cause an outbreak in nuisance algae. As I've learned over the years it can appear and dissappear gradually or suddenly. I would recommend Forest ROhwer's "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" (kindle is ~$10) for an indroduction to how corals, microbial proceesses and algae interact.

Here's some videos you might find informative also:

Forest Rohwer "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"


Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes


Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont


BActeria and Sponges


Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

 

[Kynzo]

Thank you!

DOn't beat yourself up about not cleaning rock thuroghly in an upgrade of move. (I prefer not to do much if nay myself.) There's no way you can get rid of or stop cyano from growing in a reef system. Reef ssytems have competing microbial processes and it's the equilibrium of the ecosystem that will promote nuisance algae or corals. Any disturbance to a system wether it's a dead fish, a sudden change in temperature or nutrients or some other variable will disrupt the equilibrium and potentially cause an outbreak in nuisance algae. As I've learned over the years it can appear and dissappear gradually or suddenly. I would recommend Forest ROhwer's "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" (kindle is ~$10) for an indroduction to how corals, microbial proceesses and algae interact.

Here's some videos you might find informative also:

Forest Rohwer "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"


Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes


Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont


BActeria and Sponges


Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

This is a great response. I appreciate the insight.