This thread will document my experience with my 40 gallon package order.
The first half of my order was shipped via Delta Air Cargo to Anchorage, Alaska (ANC) via Atlanta on Sunday evening, the 9th of October. It was shipped on the last flight to Atlanta and the first flight to ANC the next day. It arrived at ANC at about 2PM, and I was able to pick it up at 5:30PM. Shipping cost was $109.93 or something like that. I forgot the exact weight. I had it in the water by 6:30PM. The 3 boxes arrived in perfect condition, with no leaks. They were a little cold, so for the second half of my order, I think I will ask for heat packs. So far, I have not seen a detectable increase in ammonia, but I am going to buy a different test kit to make sure. There may be a little die-off of sponges, but most everything seems to have survived ok. For critters, I have seen one serpent star about 3" in diameter (missing 1 leg), some small hermit crabs, and a few tiny snails, in addition to the usual copepods and amphipods. I have not seen any isopods (good or bad) yet and have not heard or seen any mantis shrimp, which is unfortunate, because I was hoping for some. I saw what appeared to be a 1ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ chiton on one of the rocks, but I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want to keep the rock out of the water long enough to be sure. I have not seen any crabs (other than small hermits) yet either. There was quite a bit of macro algae of various types. The rock looks pretty good, much better than any I could have purchased locally. As for the sand, I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t see very many worms or larger invertebrates, but they may be hiding (I think the serpent star and the hermits and snails I have seen came in on the sand) . Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try to get some of the sand under a microscope and see whatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s crawling around in it. I may decide to stop being lazy and actually take some pictures to post to this thread. If I do, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try for a series of pictures showing the progression of the tank over a few weeks. At this time, I am not planning on having any vertebrates (fish, mob witnesses, etc) or additional livestock for a while, so the only thing in the tank will be what came in on my order, plus a few extra bristle worms from my bristle worm tank (itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a long story, donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t ask) to help with any die-off.
I'll update this thread as things develop.
The first half of my order was shipped via Delta Air Cargo to Anchorage, Alaska (ANC) via Atlanta on Sunday evening, the 9th of October. It was shipped on the last flight to Atlanta and the first flight to ANC the next day. It arrived at ANC at about 2PM, and I was able to pick it up at 5:30PM. Shipping cost was $109.93 or something like that. I forgot the exact weight. I had it in the water by 6:30PM. The 3 boxes arrived in perfect condition, with no leaks. They were a little cold, so for the second half of my order, I think I will ask for heat packs. So far, I have not seen a detectable increase in ammonia, but I am going to buy a different test kit to make sure. There may be a little die-off of sponges, but most everything seems to have survived ok. For critters, I have seen one serpent star about 3" in diameter (missing 1 leg), some small hermit crabs, and a few tiny snails, in addition to the usual copepods and amphipods. I have not seen any isopods (good or bad) yet and have not heard or seen any mantis shrimp, which is unfortunate, because I was hoping for some. I saw what appeared to be a 1ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ chiton on one of the rocks, but I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want to keep the rock out of the water long enough to be sure. I have not seen any crabs (other than small hermits) yet either. There was quite a bit of macro algae of various types. The rock looks pretty good, much better than any I could have purchased locally. As for the sand, I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t see very many worms or larger invertebrates, but they may be hiding (I think the serpent star and the hermits and snails I have seen came in on the sand) . Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try to get some of the sand under a microscope and see whatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s crawling around in it. I may decide to stop being lazy and actually take some pictures to post to this thread. If I do, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try for a series of pictures showing the progression of the tank over a few weeks. At this time, I am not planning on having any vertebrates (fish, mob witnesses, etc) or additional livestock for a while, so the only thing in the tank will be what came in on my order, plus a few extra bristle worms from my bristle worm tank (itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a long story, donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t ask) to help with any die-off.
I'll update this thread as things develop.
(I have one coming with the second half of my "package"), but I have seen a few small non-hermit crabs. Lots of spaghetti worms and featherduster-type worms in the rocks. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m having a bit of a diatom bloom right now, but thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s to be expected until I get some diatom grazers in there. I also have a nice crop of hydroid jellyfish ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 
