Cycle a salt tank with freshwater materials?

[CatfishFanatic]

I have set up many freshwater tanks in past years and have found the quickest and easiest way to cycle the tank is to place a filter sponge from a cycled tank in the new tank.

I am curious to know if anyone has tried to cycle a saltwater tank like this. Or are the bacteria needed for salt tanks a different type? Would there be any obvious reasons NOT to try this as a test?

[fishfreek]

The procedure you outline is a good procedure to use if you have access to an established tank. When I set my 80 gal up I did not 'cycle' the tank so to speak since i added the LR from an established tank into this tank and added 10lbs of livesand from another established tank.

This is the same principle reguarless if its freshwater or saltwater. If you take something with established backtera in it and place in a new tank the established bactera will grow and spread into the new tank.

What I dont think you can do is to cycle a saltwater tank with freshwater bactera. I feel that types of tanks have such a different water chemistry that the freshwater bactera would probably end up dieing off creating an ammonia source for the saltwater bactera to start to grow.

I personally have not verified my hypothisis as I have not had any freshwater and saltwater tanks up at the same time.

[reefrunner69]

I agree with Aaron, some say they are the same bacteria, but some say they are different, bet even if they are the same, I believe the osmotic shock involved would kill them off, anyway. I also believe there are alot more micro organisms involved in the denitrification process than nitrsomnas and nitrobacter....