Maturation lighting requirements

Question
Good morning,
To atart with, I'm one of those noobs out there starting my first marine tank.  When adding live rock and live sand to a new tank to start the cycling, do I need to have the lights on as I would with a stocked tank?  I've heard that I should just leave them off completely.  Will the live rock/sand die without the lights?  Thanks, Eric

Answer
I have always have used my lights just not as long. When cycling my tank I usually run my lights every other day for only 4 hours. To give anything that may need lighting in your live rock. I am talking to another person that has just started a tank and went to fast, and now there are problems. So the most important factor in setting up a new tank, is patience and time. It usually takes me aprox 6 months for a complete set up to be done.