newbie starting out

[kevNnic]

how much live rock have u added? a pound? or 14 pounds? you should have 1 pound of live rock per every gallon. If the snails are alive, they should be active. Have u checked your water levels?

[catshanon]

Originally Posted by kevNnic

how much live rock have u added? a pound? or 14 pounds? you should have 1 pound of live rock per every gallon. If the snails are alive, they should be active. Have u checked your water levels?

Its just a pound of live rock, and my water level has dropped 1/2 an inch. I took the snails in my hand and tapped them, and could still feel their soft flesh (so, am I guessing correctly that they are alive ?)

I have 60 pounds of base rock that will be seeded with these live rock, so I am just trying to keep the one pound of live rock alive.



I can see one small snail moving about nicely :-) :-), so is it safe to assume that the sand bed is live ? and can I add a hermit crab and a sand sifting starfish?

[Aquattro]

The "live" part is simply the bacteria in the rock and sand, so yes, it's still alive. In a 14g tank, I'd add about 8-10 pounds of rock, depending on porosity. Do some small water changes to dilute any nutrients from th erock and sand, which is why you've got green stuff everywhere.

[catshanon]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

The "live" part is simply the bacteria in the rock and sand, so yes, it's still alive. In a 14g tank, I'd add about 8-10 pounds of rock, depending on porosity. Do some small water changes to dilute any nutrients from th erock and sand, which is why you've got green stuff everywhere.

I will be transferring everything from the 14g to a 60g. I just added some dry sand in the 60G and will be putting my 50lbs of dead base rock in the 60G.

So, how should I go about transferring the sand from the 14G to the 60G ? just a simple transfer will do ?

Thanks in advance.

[schroeder]

Originally Posted by catshanon

So, how should I go about transferring the sand from the 14G to the 60G ? just a simple transfer will do ?

place the live sand in the new tank in 3 or 4 mounds. Do not just scatter it evenly in the 60g tank.

BTW. the 'centipede' like worm is probably a bristle worm... a beneficial detrivore. You should avoid touching it however as the sharp bristles can irritate, or may even be toxic.

[ALang]

If the snail/ crab is dead, you'll know it when you pick it up! Give it a sniff, cautiously, and if it is dead, it'll have this incredibly awful decomposition smell. If it smells like regular sea water, salty, then it is still good.

[kevNnic]

sounds like your on the right trail, but it is going to take forever to seed your base rock with only a pound of LR.