Doin' a re-scape this weekend and I've got some questions...

[ScubaSteve]

It's finally reached the point where my corals are starting to grow into one another and I feel a re-scape is in order to give them more room to grow. I also feel it's time to try something different and work with a different design... one that is better planned than what I have now.

The tank has been in its current form for almost 1 year to the day when I last moved. I am having some concerns about moving the rocks around and stirring up the sand.

Should I be worried about stirring up the sand and unleashing "who-knows-what"? I am expecting a small cycle from this but will disturbing the sand exacerbate this?

Can I remove the rock and drain as much of the water as possible without disturbing the sand, then give the sand a bit of a stir and rinse?

I am having a bit of a FW outbreak since my mandarin died a few months back, so there hasn't been anyone to keep them in check. I'll be keeping the LR in water during the re-scape, but should I be concerned with FW die off and subsequent toxin release?

If I remove my rock without exposing it to air, do you think I'll be able to preserve some or all of the sponge fauna?

I've got my own answers to a lot of this but am not 100% sure and am looking for a concensus.