live sand

[TOGA]

i need some live sand to seed my 30 if anyine has a few cups they arr willingly to sell i would really like some i also want some micro sea stars the serpant kind any any one has any i would really like them

[maxwellwhothunk]

I think your best bet would be to try your LFS, or buy a bag of the already seeded type. I first bought 70lbs of live sand from a person on eBay. But she shipped it with ground service, needless to say, it showed up at my door, and it smelled really bad because everything died! Most people will part with some live sand or cheato or whatever, if you pay for shipping, its just a matter of how much you want it to arrive alive :). I would be willing to part with some, but 3 day priority shipping would cost like $9-10 and idk how much express would be.

You can also just let your tank cycle with pieces of uncooked shrimp or something similar. That would probably be your best bet, of course you would have to wait longer.

I still thing going to a LFS is the best, they can get you a 20lbs bag of the stuff that already has bacteria in it, for about $20-30 which IMO is a better alternative than having someone ship ~1lbs to you.

[TOGA]

well i just bought five pounds from my lfs to seed my tank but they didnt have any of the micro seatstars like i was wanting if i bought some sand from u would it have alot of the little critters in it if so i dont might spending a few bucks

[maxwellwhothunk]

Like bristle worms and Codepods etc.? if so then yes you would probably get some, but as your tank matures, you will end up having them anyway. I never 'added' any to my tank, one day I just saw them running around in the refuge.

Personally I don't have any stars in my fuge, I would like to get one someday.

[TOGA]

how much would it be for say about five or ten pounds

[FishinInTheDark]

Toga, all of those critters will come out of your live rock. Unless you had them shipped overnight, whatever sand was mailed to you would come full of dead stuff and ammonia. As your tank and sand bed matures, you'll have them all in there. If you really need them now, and your LFS doesn't have what you want, try contacting your local reef club. Your chances of live critters greatly increase with a short-distance move, instead of cross-country shipping.

GL!