Buying plants before tank is set up

[Jess]

This might be a dumb question...then again, plants can be expensive so what's the harm in asking?

I just picked up the last bit of my hardscape materials yesterday, and I am half-way finished soldering my DIY light stand.  The rest should be done by the weekend.  Question is: can I order my plants today, and keep them in a bucket of aquarium bucket outside (for light exposure) for a week or so, until my tank is fully ready?  Or is it safer to just wait until everything is good-to-go, hardscape is set and everything, and then buy the plants and wait some more? 

Like I said...perhaps a dumb question...it's not that I'm impatient, it's more like I'm frustrated because plants that I want keep coming in stock and then selling out (like the Tiger Lotus...)  Granted, I have been building this tank since July (everything but the glass is built by hand in my very limited free time, so I maybe at this point I am little impatient.

Is there any obvious problem with buying the plants a week or so ahead of the tank being ready?

[KBOzzie59]

I've had some java fern in a bucket in my garage for a couple weeks now (no/little light).  Guess I'll get them in a tank today.  So yes, you can keep in a bucket, outside if it's not freezing.

[Alesha]

No problem at all to keep them in a bucket until you're ready for them. I'd treat them like I would a fish I was transporting - add an air stone with a small pump to the bucket, give it some light, make sure the temps are reasonable, put it somewhere it won't get kicked over. (Learned that last one the hard way!🙄😬)

[Streetwise]

I can keep plants indefinitely in my cycled utility tanks that have existing plants, wood, lights, and sponge filters.

However, in a bucket of new water, you might want to add an air stone and some light. I left my most recent large order about two weeks before planting, and the plants suffered. I added a Co-Op sponge filter and a light for next time. I run it even when empty, and use it for top-off water.

[TomO]

I am nearly ready to set up my 75 but waiting one my substrate. I put my plant  shipment  in another tank .

[Jess]

Thanks, all!!!  Very helpful to have these suggestions and read others' experiences.

[JettsPapa]

There is one thing to watch out for.  I thinned some crypts a while ago, and floated the excess in one of my tanks for what turned out to be a couple weeks.  All the growth was of course going toward the light, so when I finally got around to planting them it took a while for them to straighten out and look right.  There wasn't any permanent harm, but I wanted to mention it.