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

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.

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?

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

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?

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.

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

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

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Reviews

S**N

Works within the second day. I’ve started cycling my salt water tank with microbacter startxlm for two weeks and nothing happened. The first row in the picture shows the results of my ammonia and nitrite level after two week. Then I decided to try Dr Tim one and only. After three days I got my ammonia down to zero and i continue to add about .5 ppm ammonia to the tank every other day. I just couldnt get nitrate to drop to. It is as if the bacteria that suppose to convert the nitrite to nitrate was too slow. I added a refugium at this time so that takes care of my nitrate bringing it down fairly quickly. The second row on the picture shows the result after adding dr Tim for about 1.5 weeks. Then I decided to try Fritz turbo start and within 2 days, my nitrite drops to zero. The result of Fritz turbo after 2 days is shown in the last row in the picture. There’s still a little bit of ammonia left but I’m not too concern of that. Great stuff!

5.03.2021

V**S

Good stuff. It works smells like septic but it's supposed to is helping my aquarium cycle properly and fast. Thank you! I had added crushed coral with bits of organic matter in it. That makes my ammonia go up which is what I wanted. Also, I added macro algae. Some of it went through the wave maker and dispersed throughout the tank which also caused ammonia. So I put a little bit of this in the aquarium and tested the water daily. I also added a lot of porous filtration media and live rock and 3 to 4 inches of live sand. It was enough to dose my tank and also have more for when I add fish. This is good stuff and it works five stars all the way

3.05.2025

E**N

I love this stuff! I have used other starter bacterias, but nothing compares to this as far as speed that it can cycle an aquarium! Both times I have ordered from this seller (saltwateraquarium.com), these have arrived appropriately packaged with a cooling pack. Very satisfied!!

24.10.2025

B**8

It's pretty strong and seems to work but no way it works in a week. I'm on week 3 and it's been cycled but if I add fish or many inverts it will cycle again. So take it slow, test daily.

18.01.2026

P**S

Works great!

17.04.2025

ASIN	B084GPBL98
Batteries Included	No
Best Sellers Rank	#26,505 in Pet Supplies ( See Top 100 in Pet Supplies ) #210 in Fish Medication & Health Supplies
Customer Reviews	4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (619)
Date First Available	18 March 2020
Item Form	Liquid
Item Weight	113 g
Item model number	080531806142
Number of Items	1
Product Dimensions	12.7 x 3.81 x 3.81 cm; 113.4 g
Quantity	1
Size	110 g.
batteries required	No

فريتز اكواتيكس FritzZyme Turbo Start 900 Saltwater (4 oz)

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