dusty tank?

[conk12301]

I'm in the middle of cycling a new tank. No fish - just live rock and sand.

It's been about a week and I'm starting to notice a thin layer of what looks kind of like dust building up on the inside of the walls of the tank. It's not algae because it's completely white. The water isn't cloudy or anything but the stuff makes the tank look a lot less perfectly clean than it is right now. If I wipe it away, it will be back in a day or two.

Any idea what this might be or how to prevent from developing? I've never seen it in my freshwater tanks in the past.

 

[seapug]

did you rinse you sand first? if not that's probably what it's from. It'll subside eventually.

 

[72884]

Seems like you have a carbon eating bacteria bloom. Same thing happens when dosing the tank with a carbon source for bacteria to feed on. Just let the tank cycle and it'll be fine.