"Gunk" floating ontop of the aquarium

I have just added live sand into my aquarium and there is what I can only describe as gunk floating on-top of the aquarium. I'm not referring to the silt or the cloudiness, it kind of looks like what you see ontop of the water when you boil meat. Does anyone know what this is and if it isn't good how to get rid of it?

 

Good flow in the surface and a properly working overflow should remove that gunk.

 

Ive read that I should keep the power head off until the silt settles as well as keep the hang of the back protein skimmer off until the cycling process is over.

 

That shouldn't be a problem, probably some dust from the live sand getting agitated to the surface. Nothing to worry about.

I would leave the powerhead and the skimmer off for a day (or two) until the cloudiness is settled but definitely not off for the entire cycle time. It probably doesn't help all that much to run the skimmer while cycling (as a big aerator), but I don't think it will hurt all that much either.

 

just an update, I turned on the power head and pointed it to the top of the tank and in only 15-20 minutes its almost all gone, just a small bit left compared to what was there before I turned on the power head, thanks for all the help.

 

Excelent!! For me the skimmer should be on from day one in an aquarium that is cycling. Nutrients produced by new live rock should be removed from the water no matter that you are cycling.