Question 1

Doesn’t this need to be cold ? If so why does it take so long to get here?

Accepted Answer

No, it doesn't need to be cold 24/7 every second.  While it's best kept that way when stored, they aren't so fragile, it doesn't need to be shipped like a vaccine or anything; they don't die. In fact, the best temperature for them when they are cultured are in the 90s; your tank is probably 80+. It should be kept cold however to slow their metabolism down so they don't starve - the heat isn't going to kill them unless very very hot (110F+), but they can't reproduce in the bottle.  There's no oxygen, so oxidizing ammonia can't happen. They can only live so long without a nitrogen source.  So keeping it cold keeps this concentrated bacterial culture more potent over time for that reason.  The normal assumption is that they are killed by heat, but that doesn't usually happen, it requires very high temperatures to be bactericidal.  When not in transit, it should absolutely be kept in the refrigerator. Freezing will kill them, and the warmer it gets over a long timeframe (weeks, months) the less potent it will be.  They do understand this when it's manufacturered. A new bottle will be more potent (have more bacteria) than one 4 months later near the 'Best By' date, or stored at 40F vs 75F during that time. So the rating is very conservative. They grow exponentially when put back into a tank, so it will recover.   Best way we recommend is to utilize as much as possible, all at once, and it will compensate for any potential shipping loss. Overdosing it 5X works great, and that's what we suggest here for best results. Every bottle and tank setup is unique, however, so results still do vary for each situation and aquarium.

Question 2

I accidentally bought this saltwater version instead of the freshwater one. Would this still be ok to use or should I go get the correct one?

Accepted Answer

Sadly it won't work. The nitrifying bacteria are different between the two.

Question 3

my ammonia is 1.0 after a week. 2 clowns,1 sailfin molly, 3 hermit crabs, 2 nasarius snails. do i need to add more fritz?

Accepted Answer

What size tank? How much Turbo did you add? alot of questions needed answered to be able to help you on that. If its a 25-30 Gallon with those in the tank and you added a 1oz bottle, you can safely dose again with another 1oz bottle. Fritz is great and wont harm your Fish, Crabs or Snails. You can safely add it up to 5x recommended. If you want the ammonia to go down, also consider feeding less, go down to every other day or every 2 days, clowns and the Molly might be a bit hungry but wont hurt them. Also check for other reasons on the spike. Anything Dead? any Left over food after feeding? do you have a Sand/Coral bed that you havent bothered cleaning? Lot of reasons ammonia will rise so no one can completely help you on this. But first thing I would do is limit your feeding as it is only contributing to the Ammonia raise.

Question 4

How much do I use in a 75 gallon saltwater tank ?

Accepted Answer

Depends on whether or not you already have fish. My tank was new and was empty, so I used the entire bottle.

Item model number	TurboStart 900
Item Form	Liquid
Size	1 oz.
batteries required	No
Batteries Included	No

FritzZyme Turbo Start 900 Saltwater (1 oz)

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