Two answers · ugly water

Why doesn’t it look like the photo yet?

First Tank verdict. Aquarists call milky water a bacterial bloom and tell you not to panic-clean. Living Oceans calls the first month an adaptation phase with fast algae and tells you to wipe glass and sand twice a week.

Living Oceans source: new-ecosystem checklist §2 — expect increased algae, easy to clean, magnetic cleaner, sand with net handle. First-year guide — first weeks sensitive to extra food and light. Aquarist source: white = bloom or dust; green = light + nutrients; don’t 90% change a new tank.

	Normal aquarist answer	Living Oceans answer
White haze	Bloom. Feed less. Wait.	Can still happen. Don’t treat it as a broken product.
Green / film	Cut photoperiod. Move off the window.	Lights are programmed. Still clean glass up to twice a week in month one.
Sand	Vacuum on water-change day.	Rake/clean with the net handle up to twice a week at the start.

Complete system · not a glass box They already wrote the first-month mess into the checklist

Increased algae is listed as normal. Clean it. Don’t restart the tank.

First-month care checklist

First Tank may earn a commission. Living Oceans answers are taken from Living Oceans’ own guides, product pages and care checklists. Normal aquarist answers are standard hobby practice — not one shop.

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