I don't know if you have to dry it, but basically you've got to clean it and get all the dead stuff out, which is probably ALOT of stuff if it's going to sit a week. You're probably talking about many rinses in fresh water. If your final rinse is with RO water, you could put it in the tank wet I suppose, then stir it really well to allow the fresh water to mix in with your tank water, let everything settle, then adjust salinity. I guess it depends on how much you want to re-use the sand vs tossing it and buying new. As far as keeping the stuff you have alive, if it already smells like rotten eggs, forget it. If not and you want to try saving it, or part of it that doesn't stink, you might try putting 5-6" in a big tub, then filling that tub with fresh saltwater and keeping a couple of powerheads in there to really keep it moving, and an airstone or small skimmer would not hurt.. You'll probably need a few tubs. Don't even try to do it in a bucket. Good luck; sad to hear Chris sold his tank, but glad that someone in MAAST got it! It's a nice set up.