Pour the contents of this bag into a new or restarted aquarium to jump start the filter and avoid cloudy and smelly water, which is often called new-tank syndrome.

In a few hours your aquarium should clear and be ready for fish.

Recommendation: We consider this to be the best way to start an aquarium or to re-start it with nitrifying bacteria.

These bacteria are living here in a healthy aquarium in our facilities.

We will pack them for shipment to you in the late afternoon, and then ship them to arrive to you before noon the next day.

Can't be much fresher than that.

A Story: A long-long time ago. DrTom and Nevin added 66-more aquariums to their facilities.

These aquariums consisted of 6-groups of aquariums, and each group contained 11-aquariums: 9 with 90-gallons of water and 2 with 120-gallons of water, totaling over 1000-gallons.

The water recirculated among the aquariums in each group, and as the water recirculated it went through a large professional bio-wheel filter and a UV-unit, which was turned off.

Next DrTom bought 3 or 4 different starter cultures of beneficial bacteria to kick-start the biological filtration. He added one type of the cultures to each group of aquariums.

Every day he tested the ammonia and nitrite levels with a very accurate kit and then graphed the results.

Oh yes, and by the way there were also some very hardy fish in each group of aquariums to supply fish waste for the beneficial bacteria to digest.

The graphs gyrated upwards and the aquariums were smelly and hazy. The cultures were not working. Tom was staring at the aquariums with a big wrinkle on his forehead, when Dr. Walter Heiligenberg walked in, saw Tom's forehead, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Tom explained about trying to get the beneficial bacteria jump-started in the new aquariums. Walter laughed and then said, "How long have you been here with all your other aquariums?" Tom said, "10-years".

Walter said, "And before that you were in a basement for how many years?" Tom said, "Over 7-years, and 3 more years in a garage." Water said, "A total of more than 20-years." Tom said, "Yes more than 20-years."

Walter said for 20-years the bacteria in your other aquariums have been evolving and adapting to this water in San Diego, to the temperature of about 78-degrees, and to fish waste produced by the same kinds of fish, eating the same kinds of food.

Over millions of generations they are now very well adapted to these conditions.

So shake some of the dirty filters from your established aquariums into your new aquariums. He even helped Tom do it. The next day all of our new aquariums were crystal clear with no bad smell. The ammonia and the nitrite were undetectable.

Tom called Walter and thanked him.