Tetra Safe Start

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#1
I copied the following from another forum. One of the moderators wrote to Tetra and it is a copy of her letter, plus Tetra's response. BTW it is $21 at Petsmart

TO: TetraCare Customer Care Team

Hi
I belong to an on-line forum and several questions come up about the use
of SafeStart.
The directions on the bottle aren't very clear.
Many members have had luck with it but some haven't.
We'd love to be able to answer questions about it's use.
If you could send step by step instructions so that I may pass them on,
it would be great.

Some of the more popular questions are:
Will conditioners that detox ammonia effect SafeStart?
If so, how and why?

Do you add water, conditioner, SafeStart and fish all at once or should
you:
a) Add fish, wait a day to add Tetra SafeStart?
b) Add Tetra SafeStart wait a day to add fish?
c) Do you add your full stock of fish at once or start off with just a
few?

If you've already added fish and have an ammonia reading, will Tetra
SafeStart still be effective?

At what ammonia reading will Tetra SafeStart still be effective.

Is there too high of a reading that would render Tetra SafeStart
ineffective?
What would that reading be?

Can it be refrigerated without harming the bacteria?

After adding Tetra SafeStart:
How soon should you test the water and why?
(I've heard it said you'll get high ammonia readings if you test within
10 days of adding TSS. Isn't that harmful to the fish? If not, why?)

How soon should you do a water change after adding the product and why?

Does TSS effect the pH?

What is the key to the success or failure of Tetra SafeStart?

I'm sorry, I know I have a lot of questions but the forums goal is the
same as yours, happy healthy fish.

I appreciate your taking the time to address my questions.
Feel free to add any other information you think would be pertinent to
the success or failure of SafeStart.

Thank you!



Hi there,

Wow, lots of questions! All are pretty simple, and we get them a lot
too. I'll suggest marketing address them on our website, next time they
update it. Out of curiosity, what forum is it?

So...where to begin? First, ideally you should set up the tank, and let
it run at least 24 hours, then, shortly before you head off to the store
for your first fish, add TSS to the tank. Within two hours, you should
add the fish. Our normal recommendation is to add one small fish per
ten gallons of water. However, you CAN fully stock the tank, you just
need to keep a close eye on it, and be sure to not complicate matters by
overfeeding as well. We recommend this method for African cichlid tanks
since it is best to fully stock such a tank from the beginning due to
territorial issues. For a novice fish-keeper, we'd recommend the one
small fish per ten gallons rule for the first two weeks. Within two
weeks, TSS should have fully cycled the tank and they can start slowly
adding more fish, one at a time.

In regards to ammonia products, yes, they kill TSS. Any type, whether a
chloramines remover or detoxifier, etc, anything that says it locks up
ammonia or removes ammonia. Do not add TSS for 24 hours after using
such a product, and do not add such a product for at least 7 days after
using TSS. The bacteria is housed in a special stabilized solution of
ammonia, so if you remove/lock up the ammonia, you remove all of the
food the bacteria require to live.

If you already have fish, and are having an ammonia issue, it is best to
get the ammonia levels down to below 4.0. 4.0 and higher is just as
toxic to TSS as it is to fish. While 2.0 -3.5 PPM ammonia may harm some
of the TSS bacteria, it should still have some effect. You may want to
do a second dose several days after adding the first one, if you are not
seeing the results you want. Keep in mind, these are bacteria, not a
chemical, so results are slow to see. Give the product at least 5-7
days.

Best temperature for TSS is between 40 and 80 degrees. Freezing and
extreme heat will destroy it. Refrigeration is okay, but not necessary.

You can test the water any time, but really, you should probably wait at
least 48 hours. We expect TSS to start slowly seeding the tank, and
making a difference in about that time. You have to have some ammonia
occur in the tank to provide the cycle needed, so it will usually create
levels or reduce levels to around 1.0-1.5 ppm, and they should stay
there for a week to 14 days, and then come down. Sorry, these levels
would be for both ammonia and nitrite. These are considered stress, but
not toxic, levels, and should not cause any long term damage to the
fish.

We recommend waiting two weeks before a water change. Of course, if for
some reason, the levels go up to a high level again, we would recommend
a change at that point, and another dose. Usually, the hobbyist has
done something wrong the first time, in such cases.

Nope, bacteria should not affect the pH.

Hmmm....be sure the levels are not already toxic, shake the container
thoroughly, be sure to add the right dosage, do not use an ammonia
detoxifying product, and be patient. It won't give you zero readings in
an hour, like some folks think. By the way, carbon does not affect it
but uv lights do...we get those questions too. :) And just an
interesting point...the large aquariums, such as the Georgia Aquarium,
and the Shedd Aquarium, as well as huge research labs in this country
and other countries, also use TSS as well as the saltwater version Bio
Spira.

If I have not addressed all of your questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Tetra Care
__________________________________________________ ______________
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#3
I just want people to know that I happened to run across this on"Google" and thought it was good resource material because it had a source and it was also pretty straight forward if anyone was inclined to go that route.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#9
Sorry, maybe I am not saying it clearly. I wouldn't have copied it if it wasn't available on Google for everyone. I just happened to come across it when I was trying to find out more info about Tetra Save and I thought others might want a source for where the info came from. To me, it comes from the people who manufacture it and it seems to answer the questions ask. Its not copyright - its a source.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#12
Just do a Google search or a search on any of the forums for "Tetra Safe Start". What I read was mostly positive and the ones that had problems didn't seem to be following directions on the bottle. You'd have to decide for yourself whether it was worth the expense. I suspect if you bought a kid an aquarium and then told them they couldn't have fish for "X" months, you'd buy a bottle.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#13
Thyra, reposting something like that on a "not for profit" website like this one is completely fine. However, posting it to another site might not be completely okay depending on the site. If you'll look at the bottom of the Fishlore site you'll notice the little (c) for copyright. This means anything posted to their forum is copywritten and any information posted in a profitable capacity should get their permission first. Even if the site isn't copywritten it's proper internet etiquette to link back to the author.

Also, sometimes threads like that can have additional information in the comments.

Edit: I almost forgot. EXCELLENT FIND!
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#14
I'm sorry - I thought because I was on Google, it was public domain. As you noticed, the author didn't sign the letter, nor did the employee from Tetra. I did finally put the link back to Google where I found it. I figured if I just posted the link most people wouldn't bother to go back and look at it. Is there a way you feel I should remove the whole thing? (I don't know how to do that, but I suspect there is a way)
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#17
You know that is exactly what started this whole thing! I was trying to avoid starting an urban legend and because the answers were all from Tetra I assumed that was as close as I could come to the "real" scoop. I don't know what I am going to do with all this knowledge - now I have my daughter involved, (who is a civil engineer and quite up on contracts,etc.) lecturing me on copyrights, ethics and the internet. LOL
 

brian1973

Superstar Fish
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#18
Hey all I emailed seachem to get some info on both tetra safe start and their product stability. I am still waiting on a response back from Tetra.
Seachem response.

Hello Brian,

Thank you for the email and for using Prime. Yes; Prime
is "safe" to use with the Tetra Safe Start. However,
whether the Tetra Safe Start will work efficiently in the
presence of Prime is something you will have to ask the
makers of that product. A good bacteria supplement should
work regardless of what type of de-chlorinator you use.
Prime is detoxifying the ammonia in the tank by binding
with it, putting it in an inert state (ammonium) so that
your tank inhabitants remain safe. It remains active for
up to 48 hours, which gives the biological filter
(bacteria) enough time to consume and utilize the ammonia.
The bacteria in Stability will consume ammonia in either
form (NH3 or NH4) and can function under a very broad
range of parameters. Stability is a very unique bacteria
supplement due to the fact that it is held in an dormant
spore-like state while in the bottle, keeping the bacteria
from becoming active before putting in the tank. Once you
pour it into the tank, the inhibitor becomes diluted and
the bacteria begin to metabolize, therefore, you are
getting 100% viable bacteria. We highly recommend using
Prime in conjunction with Stability. I hope this
information was helpful and please let us know if you need
any further assistance. Have a wonderful day!
 

achase

Large Fish
Feb 1, 2010
765
0
0
British Columbia, Canada
#19
This is very interesting! Although I find it strange that they recommend that you add a fish 2 hours after adding TSS. Is that so the bacteria have a food source or because the bacteria can establish themselves that quickly?

Copyrights and stuff is crazy but I understand why people want to enforce it. When I'm citing papers for my classes I'm paranoid and cite like every word....well that's a exaggeration but I do cite a lot just in case.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#20
Awesome Brian. Excellent to know.

Prime+Stability=Yes
Prime+TSS=Probably

The addition of the fish is so the bacterial bloom (which you're likely to get) will have some ammonia to feed on. If you don't add fish or something else that adds ammonia the bacteria will die off in a couple days.

I find it interesting to look at both quotes about the bacteria in a bottles. They're both claiming a unique technique that makes the bacteria inert (I.E. doesn't require refrigeration) until released into the water.

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I once wrote a ten page paper that had over 20 references in the bibliography.