[mike31154]

I purchased my system from a lady in Richmond. Daughter & I drove from Vernon to Richmond & back in January. The rock work was wrapped in newspaper soaked with tank water. Don't recall if I set the tank up the same evening or next day, but it's surprising what came out of the rockwork once the system was going again. There were at least 3-4 crabs that survived the dry spell in totes with newspaper & who knows how many other inverts & other critters that we don't normally see, only come out at night etc.

I also usually keep a couple of buckets of old water in pails after a water change. They sit in the basement for a good 21 days or more until the next one. The two buckets have accumulated a bit of sand that gets vacuumed out of the display with the water & I usually throw the trimmings of my chaeto ball in there as well. I recall dumping one bucket into the sink in preparation for the next water change & there were still plenty of pods, worms etc. alive & wiggling on their trip down the drain! Needless to say, the temperatures in the basement where the pail sits for 3 weeks is nowhere near the tropical average these animals have evolved to survive in. And the water sits there stagnant too. Much to be said for the survival properties built into these critters.

But... not being a marine biologist & knowing the needs of each species intimately, it's probably prudent to drip acclimate most of the inverts you paid good money for. Hitchhikers are a nice bonus, or not, depending.