dave.brandon7

Hello, thanks for reading. just a quick question,

I've receantly set up a 150g saltwater fish only its been running for a week and has reached a stable level. so last night I added 1 clown and the correct dose of TSS, (the water is pure), now the question is I've just found out that there is a marine version of TSS and I've gone and put a tropical version into my tank. will this make any difference? have I just made a mistake so early on?

One more question: could I seed my saltwater,with media from an astablished freshwater tank? if so will this effect the TSS

Thanks for your time

Dave

I've merged your posts to save some space since there was no post between.
Thanks!
Ken

Does nobody know? haha. I cant see it making much difference, I just thought we might have an expert here..

VenomGrass

Quite a tricky question.
I'd guess that it's going to be a problem because TSS Marine states:
And the TSS Tropical is apparently a different kind of bacteria. Don't take my word; but i'm sure other members will expand on this when they awake
Hope ya sort it mate

harpua2002

It's a problem.
The bacteria that make up the biological filter in a SW tank are completely different from their FW counterparts. The FW TSS won't work for you, nor will seeding from a FW tank.

Are you planning on adding live rock to your tank? IMO it is the best and most natural form of biological filtration for a marine tank and should be added, but not everyone chooses to do so and you can still be successful without live rock.

I'd recommend returning your clownfish if you can. A cycling tank is very hard on fish. If you want to add live rock, now is the time to do so. Any die off on your live rock will help to cycle your tank for you. If you have minimal die off and your rock is cured, it may not take long at all. If you don't want to add live rock, you can cycle the tank without fish, with a raw shrimp from the grocery store.

One more thing- nothing good happens in this hobby quickly. I'd recommend resisting the urge to use TSS or similar products to cycle your tank. TSS can be fine for FW tanks, but a marine tank is a whole different ballgame IMO. There is so much more patience involved with marine tanks... even a cycled marine tank can be easily overwhelmed by new additions if they are rushed. Marine tanks take much longer to become mature and stable than FW tanks.

dave.brandon7

thanks for the reply.. harua2002 I thought you were talking nonsence at first but I've done some research and it turns out you were 100% correct, yes it is totally different bactiria that cause a saltwater tank to go through the cycle. £20 wasted! anyway I haven't bought tetras marine version as the reviews are not very impressive. so what I've done is bought some live sand, I've mixed it in the tank with the crushed coral I currently have in there, also Ive hung two of my girlfriends new stockings full of live sand in the filter to help speed things up. the clown is still in there but because its such a big tank I cant see 1 fish raising the ammonia to dangerous levels before the cycle kicks in, If it does he will be going back to the LFS. I am testing the water every day. and feeding nemo small amounts of brine shrimp to keep the waste down.