I like what you have done with the rock. You will be able to maintenance and have access to the back wall and personally I think it is attractively layed out.
For the cycle have you tried putting in a quarter cube of frozen mysis? That should definitely get the cycle going. You can remove the remains of the mysis once you get an ammonia reading. Maybe even keep it in a jar with an open lid so you can remove all of it once things get rolling.
For the cycle have you tried putting in a quarter cube of frozen mysis? That should definitely get the cycle going. You can remove the remains of the mysis once you get an ammonia reading. Maybe even keep it in a jar with an open lid so you can remove all of it once things get rolling.