Here we go again.... another mantra.....
Why is "everyone" recommending that he cook the rock??????
Let's all sit back and think this through shall we.....
Presumably the vendor has sold him LR that is cured or uncured, (it matters not which). Presumably the vendor did not send it in a glass box thus letting in lot's of light - assuming of course that the shipper has it permanently lit which is unusual in the transportation business - it puts up the costs considerably. Another possibility is that the vendor, the nice guy that he is, slipped a battery operated light into the box - but that would be a pretty unique vendor IMO. Both of my suggestions are about a probable as algae growing in an enclosed box in transit in 8 days where there is no water to move the nutrients algae like around and present it in an acceptable fashion for the said algae. Thus, comments like this:-
this allows all algaes to die off
do nothing but confuse readers who don't yet understand the natural processes that take place.
Now let's look at the cooking part that most of you have suggested as _the_ or a partial solution to this poor gentleman's problem....
Cooking rock is a process where one leaches the built up undesirable nutrients from LR that have built up during an extended period in a aquarium out of the rock by keeping it in the dark and constantly changing the water so that the concentration of the nutrients are constantly lower in the water than they are in the rock. Before you mantra oriented chaps and "chapesses" say anything.... If cooking your LR was "normal" practice upon delivery why doesn't everyone do it _all_ the time... Did you do it when your overnight shipped LR arrived on time? Of course not... But that's not the end of it, unfortunately.... Since the vendor, presumably, isn't selling LR that has been sat in someone's aquarium for a year or more I fail to see where the massive build-up of undesirable nutrients came from in an eight day old box with no water to move said nutrients deep into the rock.....
So, cooking this rock is going to do no good... period.... In fact it will do much more harm than good... Why?
Lesson One for the "cook the rock" mantra repeaters:-
Make two, very reasonable assumptions:
1. The rock the vendor sold was not sat in an aquarium long enough for significant levels of undesirable nutrients to build up... Fair, right?
2. The rock the vendor shipped was not exposed to light during the eight days and therefore there was no significant algae growth - remember, you cook your rocks in darkness to avoid the growth of algae. Fair, right?
Ok, that's out of the way. So, what do we have here? Well, we have some LR that has been shipped and delayed. It was probably good rock and appears to have been shipped properly. However, the delay will have caused some significant die off.... Hold on one minute there Batman.... What did I say? There's been die off.... OMG... Panic... Oh, hang on... Every time LR is shipped there is some die off.... Now, what do we do with our LR when it arrives normally... Oh, I remember, I put it in my tank and allow it to cycle if my tank is in the state that the original poster's tank is. Why do I allow it to "cycle"? Because I have to let all that dead stuff to rot that will produce the raised NH4 and NO2 and for the appropriate levels of bacteria that can clean the NH4 and NO2 out of the water to build to the appropriate levels... Damn, yes, now I'm beginning to remember the basics... That's all it is.... Pretty simple really....
So, to the OP, (Original Poster), put the rock in your tank and leave it dark for while while monitoring NH4 and NO2 levels and making appropriate water changes if they get too high. You can speed this process by carefully smelling each piece of rock carefully before you put it into your aquarium - be careful if you don't have a strong stomach - some of this stuff can be _really_ stinky. If you find a really bad smelling piece use your nose to determine what _exactly_ is the cause of the smell and remove it before introducing the rock to the tank. When your NH4 and NO2 levels reduce to zero test the NO3 levels - they will probably be high - change as much water as is necessary to reduce the NO3 concentration below 20, preferably below 10 and turn on the lights. You'll be fine - though I would ask for some kind of refund from the vendor simply because the LR you received is certainly not going to have the diversity of life it did when the shipper picked it up. Don't be bothering the shipper - you will have more fun banging your head against the corner of your tank.
To the Mantra Repeaters:
It's all very well to have a mantra.... Don't shoot yourself in the head with your own gun is a good one.... But there are two things you need to know about mantras:-
1. They usually have a religious "quality" which means they are repeated whenever there is ignorance or doubt. This does not make them right in every situation. They may be right in some cases but those circumstances are usually very limited. DO NOT repeat them unless you are _sure_ they are benficial.
2. Not all mantras are true..... Check them and understand the basic principles behind them. If they do not "pan out" or they don't have the science behind them that they claim to have then refer to point 1.
Kids, stop repeating things that are not appropriate for the situation just so you can hear yourself type. Look how many of you prior to this post recommended cooking the rock which will kill even more than the delayed delivery did..... If you haven't researched the science and nature behind your mantra from _independent_ sources and understood it completely then quit spouting it.... because you simply don't know whether it is appropriate for the situation and what is bad about that is you are killing more than you save and you are giving bad advice to people who are trusting you...... Get it?
To the Mods:
Yes, I can be a little abrasive. But if this site is about helping aquarists to better care for their livestock, for them to understand the processes in their aquariums and for their livestock to have a chance to survive then this constant repetition of arbitrary "rules" by people who don't seem to understand them or care to investigate them for themselves is detrimental to the hobby as a whole. The bad advice that is continually given here needs to be challenged since it harms our hobby..... I can understand people making mistakes but I cannot understand why you allow a whole threadful of people to give bad advice because it uses a cute and trendy term, (cooking), to remain on the board.
