QT Tank Set up Question

[Maxcmo]

I am in the process of setting up a new Waterbox Frag 105.4 which will be my main tank. I currently have a bio cube 32 that I will turn into my QT tank in the future. Eventually most of the coral and all of fish from the Biocube will go into the waterbox but not all. I want to remove the majority of the rock I have in there and put in a new very open thinner tree like structure so the QT tank has more water volume in it and is easier to keep clean, etc. My question is if I remove all the rock and put in this new scape in one shot (since the new one will be glued all together I don't think I can fit it in there without taking out most of the rock) will my tank re-cycle or is the sand and bio media in the center chamber (two bags filled with plastic bio balls) enough to keep me in a good spot since the bioload will decrease. I am thinking that I will wait until the waterbox is 3 months old and I can move all the fish into the Waterbox along with most the corals and at that point change out the scape. A few corals (hammer, zoa, and GSP will be left) along with all the inverts (hermit crabs, snails, red crabs) will be left. The Bio cube has been running about 8 months. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[lapin]

You are reducing the bacteria so it will be a hit or miss as to how the tank reacts. You might get a spike in ammonia but prob not too bad. What might happen is algae takes over consuming nutrients where the bacteria used.

 

[Maxcmo]

Gotcha I am thinking I will try to squeeze in the new scape and leave as much rock as possible around for few weeks and add some bacteria at the same time.