New to the hobby need help with water please.

[annhill2011]

I'm brand new to saltwater aquariums. I set up my brand new 29 gallon aquarium last week with store bought spring water and Instant Ocean Aquarium Sea Salt Mixture. The next day I added CaribSea Aragonite Hawaiian Black Aquarium Sand. I since bought 5 red leg hermit crabs and 2 Mexican turbo snails. All seemed fine until yesterday when the larger Mexican turbo snail began staying at the bottom of the aquarium not really moving. I looked online and found suggestions from the temperature of the water, the crabs possibly attacking the snails, to the salinity being to low. I also saw spring water being a bad choice of water to use also.
I'm at a loss as to what I should do.
All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[homer1475]

Your tank is uncycled, and your inhabitants are dying from ammonia poisoning.

I would suggest you read the stickies at the top of this page.

[annhill2011]

I went by what the aquarium sand bag said:

"Only CaribSea’s Arag-Alive!™ Live Sands contains not just the broad spectrum of marine bacteria found in the ocean, but additional specially selected strains of marine bacteria as well. Arag-Alive!™ compresses new tank cycle time and suppresses the initial ammonia spike. Arag-Alive!™ creates a natural biological balance, and makes cycling a new aquarium faster and safer. Live rocks and most invertebrates can be added immediately. Gradually introduce fish within the first 3 weeks, and do not exceed one inch of fish per 5 gallons during this time."

Was I misled??

[Ryan Darilek]

Yes you were. Live and DOES include the bacteria that kick starts the cycle process, but it still takes time for it to actually cycle. You typically dont want to add any clean up crew members until the tank has made it through a cycle and algae starts growing in the tank. I'm sorry to inform you, but you will likely lose everything in the tank right now. You should do plenty of research before acting in this hobby... And going slow is the best thing you can do.

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[thegrun]

Unfortunately you will need to cycle the tank even with the "live" sand which is pretty much a marketing gimmick. You may be able to save the livestock if you quickly add one of the bacteria in a bottle products like Dr. Tims One and Only, but even that may not save the snails from ammonia poisoning. Please do read the suggested stickies to get a basic understanding of the cycle process.

[gffpm1247]

I was fooled by Mexican turbo snails possibly getting stuck between rock and sand. Did some internet reading and found out the do their feeding at night. So if they aren't moving watch at night!

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[annhill2011]

Thank you everyone. Looking into Dr. Tims one and only.

[JoeyH08]

I would recommend thoroughly doing some research into new tank setup for beginners.