Old System, with added tanks... Why Algae???

[DarthSimon]

Hey Guys,
So I have a question that has been stumping my friend and I for some time. My System comprises of a Display Reef Tank, a FOWLR tank, a small 40 Gallon Breeder for a Turf Scrubber, and I just added a new 50 Gallon Low Boy frag tank, as well as a 100 Gallon Sump.

So my question is, why is it every time I add a new tank to this system, the tank suffers from the uglies, and get's all sorts of weird algae growth??? There's one side of me that says the addition is like a big water change, and why would nasty algae just appear when the system is established???

Now all of these new tanks I have added over the years to my system has had good lighting and great flow. Can someone shed some light as to why????

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Algae are primary colonizers. When nothing else is living on a surface, algae will pop up. Eventually it will be replaced by coralline algae, tube worms, coral, etc. If you clear a section of forest the first thing that will pop up on empty dirt are weeds. But those will be replaced with grasses, then underbrush, and finally trees.

At least, that’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I’m going through the same thing - well established system with no algae in the DT, good water parameters, and my frag tank is disgusting with every kind of algae you can think of.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

When you add a new tank, you presumably add a lot more than water. More organisms, more rock, more sand, more foods etc. those can all impact what thrives in the tank.

They said, I’ve added extra tanks to my system without noticeably impacting the display.

 

[DarthSimon]

Randy,
But why is it that the display tank stays clean, and the new tank gets super dirty with algae?? Obviously as stated above, same water running through all the tanks plumbed together?

 

[rushbattle]

Available surface area. Surfaces aren’t coated in whatever organisms are on your existing surface areas.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Local nutrients available on the rocks and sand, perhaps.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Available surface area. Surfaces aren’t coated in whatever organisms are on your existing surface areas.

Yes, that sounds likely. [emoji3]

 

[Dan_P]

Hey Guys,
So I have a question that has been stumping my friend and I for some time. My System comprises of a Display Reef Tank, a FOWLR tank, a small 40 Gallon Breeder for a Turf Scrubber, and I just added a new 50 Gallon Low Boy frag tank, as well as a 100 Gallon Sump.

So my question is, why is it every time I add a new tank to this system, the tank suffers from the uglies, and get's all sorts of weird algae growth??? There's one side of me that says the addition is like a big water change, and why would nasty algae just appear when the system is established???

Now all of these new tanks I have added over the years to my system has had good lighting and great flow. Can someone shed some light as to why????

Great question. It certainly defies logic. I think you have received some great hints to the answer already, but I thought that I might share an observation.

If you place a clean glass microscope slide in an aquarium, it will develop a case of the uglies. I never left one in long enough to observe the uglies going away though. But as a simple experiment, it demonstrates what happens to clean surfaces: colonization by organisms.

The colonization of surfaces is a succession of organisms, some setting up shop very quickly and creating the uglies. Overtime these rapid colonists are replaced with slower growing organisms which don’t make such a mess of the surfaces.

I have not studied this subject deeply, but that won’t stop me from guessing why it happens :-) Bacteria form biofilms very quickly on surfaces. These films provide a safe haven for bacteria. They are also slimy and sticky, very effective at attracting particulate matter. The once clean surface is now a swarming bacteria colony metabolizing trapped organic matter and releasing nutrients for whatever else wants to settle down and absorb them. This second wave of colonization that likes bacterial waste produces its own metabolic waste which in turns feeds the original bacteria colonizers. Within days the once clean surfaces become covered in a complex, almost sustaining ecology.

 

[DarthSimon]

Great question. It certainly defies logic. I think you have received some great hints to the answer already, but I thought that I might share an observation.

If you place a clean glass microscope slide in an aquarium, it will develop a case of the uglies. I never left one in long enough to observe the uglies going away though. But as a simple experiment, it demonstrates what happens to clean surfaces: colonization by organisms.

The colonization of surfaces is a succession of organisms, some setting up shop very quickly and creating the uglies. Overtime these rapid colonists are replaced with slower growing organisms which don’t make such a mess of the surfaces.

I have not studied this subject deeply, but that won’t stop me from guessing why it happens :) Bacteria form biofilms very quickly on surfaces. These films provide a safe haven for bacteria. They are also slimy and sticky, very effective at attracting particulate matter. The once clean surface is now a swarming bacteria colony metabolizing trapped organic matter and releasing nutrients for whatever else wants to settle down and absorb them. This second wave of colonization that likes bacterial waste produces its own metabolic waste which in turns feeds the original bacteria colonizers. Within days the once clean surfaces become covered in a complex, almost sustaining ecology.

Thank you to all responders!!!! Great Feedback!!!