slimy white/tan paper looking substance in saltwater tank..help!!!

[seaquest]

am new to this site ...have newly set up tank..water turned white cloudy in two days..cleared somewhat..day 7 or 8 white papery (like shredded paper) substance everywhere in tank..ammonia above 7.5 on Red Sea Lab test..no NO2's..PH 8.0..filter is caked with slimy off white/tan/orangey mucous like substance..no fish in tank..have not fed anything..skeletal coral in tank only..please guidance desperately needed..thank you thank you!

[Bifferwine]

Hi and welcome!

Sounds like you are in the midst of a full blown cycle. Cloudy water is indicative of a bacterial bloom, trying to catch up with your cycle.

HEY you're in AZ! Where??

Okay, sorry to get sidetracked. But I'm the only person on here that I know of from AZ.

Did you do anything to start a cycle? The ammonia came from somewhere, something dying or rotting.

Your best bet right now (since there's nothing in the tank) is to wait it out and NOT add any animals until it's done cycling (ammonia and nitrites both at zero). You'll see a spike in nitrates soon, you can do water changes to bring those down. It may take several weeks for the ammonia to drop down to zero, but it will happen eventually...

[reeffreak]

Welcome....Biff has you well covered.

[seaquest]

in Queen Creek..thank you thank you for quick replies..nothing has been added that i know of to rot..unless housekeeper used cleaning supplies on tank or something fell in i don't know about..do i gravel vac or do water changes (if so large or small)..also someone said something about a product named "bacter-vital"...is that something to use?..how long will the mucousy substance keep collecting in the filter?..
again..thank you

[jhnrb]

You Need To Increase Your Circulation And Clean Your Filter Regularly For A While. Do Not Use Carbon Or Any Other Additive At This Point. Did You Put Any Live Rock Or Dead Rock Into The System, And What Did You Use As A Substrait. Particulars Please. And Will Try And Help More.

[seaquest]

we used dead rock...substrate crushed coral from Tideline..we increased circulation and are changing filter reg per your mail..could the rock or substrate carried anything in?..

[Bifferwine]

It probably did. Ammonia and nitrites are indicative of something rotting, decomposing, etc. In a new tank, it doesn't take much at all to spike levels.