rock/sand ?

[bean]

I have a question. I purchased my aragonite sand on line and it was supposed to arrive on Monday but they didn't send out the order until Monday and are telling me it will arrive on Thursday. I was a little anxious so I purchased 100# of live rock expecting my sand to have already arrived and be in the tank and now my rock may show up today before my sand. I was going to use the live rock and sand/LS to cycle the tank. The water in the tank is already at the right temp (75) and the Sg (1.023) and my original intention was to drain the water into 2 rubbermaid bins and place the sand in the tank and add back the water using the bag technique so I dont cause a huge sand storm before placing my rock in the tank. Question: If my rock arrives today can I leave it in the box one more day or should I drain some water and place it in a bucket with a powerhead and heater? Can I place the rock and water back ito the tank directly once the sand arrives or should I add another batch of fresh seawater to the tank to top it off once the rock is added and then wait for it to cycle. As you can tell, I'm very new to the hobby. I've learned alot off this board but couldn't find this scenario addressed elsewhere.
thanks

 

[michaeltx]

I would not leave it in the box.
there is going to be a lot of dieoff anyway but leaveing it out of water even more time will casue more things to die that would have lived. if the tank is completely full of water then you are going to have to drain some out anyway because the sand will take up a lot of space in the bottom of the tank. the other things is you want to place some rock under the sand if possible to make your rock structure more stable. if the LFS sells dry base rock this is good to use place it in the tank on the glass fill up wilth the sand and then build up your rock work. if it all possible,
but yeah when you get the rock place it in water that you can circulate and heat until you are ready to use it. sa far as the cycle it isnt going to hurt it any to hold it for a few days before adding to the tank. when you do this take a few minutes and inspect the rock and see if you see any bad critters in it so it will work out.
HTH
Mike