New aquascape in existing tank

[Neuratox]

So, after two years my current tank really hasn't been doing so great. About 7 or 8 months ago, after signs of improvement I experienced some sort of crash that is still ongoing (at a slow rate). Gradual tissue loss on all sps, had to remove an anemone as it was on the verge of death, as well as giving several of my corals to my son. Many corals (zoas, across, and some lps) have died. All fish are still in good shape. I was never able to figure out what happened as all parameters are good.
With that said, since it's all still struggling, I figured that now is as good a time as any to rescape the tank. I did a dive this week in Belize and I'm having a hard time fighting the itch, especially since my negative space aquascape really doesn't seem all that natural and doesn't provide the number of hiding spaces that I would like.

I am the type who likes to use reef safe glue and cement to secure my rocks and create unique shapes. I still have a lot of unused rock, but would like to incorporate some of the existing pieces into the new architecture... That means removing the rock, letting it dry, then gluing and cementing it to the new portions. This process will take at least a week and thus the existing microbes will die. What can I do to best prepare all of this rock prior to reintroducing it to the tank and minimizing impact on the cycle? Realistically, should I simply expect to have to recycle the tank? Will keeping my sand be enough to keep the cycle going?

Any tips on this process would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dkmoo]

I've done this before "wet" in 1 day with the NYOS reef cement. Its on the pricey side but you can do apply it when the surface is wet and it cures very fast. They can even be applied directly in tank but that is very tricky and done wrong it will just dissolve in the tank.

The way I've done it is
1) take rocks out of tank
2) dry the surface you want to cement with paper towel, leave rest of rock wet
3) do your cement/attach rock
4) let it harden out of tank, should be pretty fast - a few mins.
5) once it feels secure, put it back in the tank.

If you never worked with it before it can be tricky bc it cures so fast. Mix very small batches and follow the package instruction closely. Do a small test piece first if you must to get used to the batch size and speed you need to work it with

If your structure need additional support, drill a 1 inch deep hole on both sides of the rock surface you want to join and insert a piece of acrylic rod in it before you cement.

 

[Neuratox]

I've done this before "wet" in 1 day with the NYOS reef cement. Its on the pricey side but you can do apply it when the surface is wet and it cures very fast. They can even be applied directly in tank but that is very tricky and done wrong it will just dissolve in the tank.

The way I've done it is
1) take rocks out of tank
2) dry the surface you want to cement with paper towel, leave rest of rock wet
3) do your cement/attach rock
4) let it harden out of tank, should be pretty fast - a few mins.
5) once it feels secure, put it back in the tank.

If you never worked with it before it can be tricky bc it cures so fast. Mix very small batches and follow the package instruction closely. Do a small test piece first if you must to get used to the batch size and speed you need to work it with

If your structure need additional support, drill a 1 inch deep hole on both sides of the rock surface you want to join and insert a piece of acrylic rod in it before you cement.

Thank you that's very helpful. I may take this approach, but I've also been considering emptying the tank so that I can construct a rock wall up the backside with dry rock, but using a little bit of the great stuff foam told everything securely in place prior to gluing.