Welcome!! A lot of schools of thought on how to cycle a tank. Good advice in here so far. Best advice is move slowly. My tank cycled for a couple months ( I had rock baking for 2 months before that) before I ordered some aquacultured live rock. To me rock is the most important. Then another month or so I added a couple of small fish,,, etc. It depends on the road you go down as to how quickly you can do things. However, the slow way is always the best way.
For leaving town, make sure you are confident of the equipment and its functionality before you leave. New equipment can have failures. A leak while you are gone for a week could be a bit damaging to stuff.
Have fun with it!!
For leaving town, make sure you are confident of the equipment and its functionality before you leave. New equipment can have failures. A leak while you are gone for a week could be a bit damaging to stuff.
Have fun with it!!

