I'm quite impressed w/ the responses on here! And here I thought I was the only fish nerd.
Silock, any of the cycling methods the others suggested will work. But honestly, no matter what method you choose, seriously consider doing it the humane way w/o the use of fishes... trust me! We thought that our tank was cycled, (false reading from the test strips), and added a few fishes. Next thing we knew they began jumping out of the tank. From that point on, I never put my trust in the test strips and bought the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It's a lot more work, but is way more accurate.
In regards to a QT... I have a spare 10g that I use and it's fairly easy to set-up. I have a small HOB filter on my 55g that I move to that tank and add my extra heater. Then, when I'm done w/ the treatment, I sanitize all of the equipment thoroughly and toss out the filter media.
The last time I used the 10g, I was treating 2 of my fishes that had Columnaris. I used MaracynII and my bacteria was still intact. I think as long as you use meds that don't alter your cycle, you will be fine. Otherwise, it's a waste to move filter media over if the meds are going to mess w/ your bacteria. I also use Prime when adding new water, (to my main tanks, and my QT).
Rid Ich worked really well when I had my Ich outbreaks, (luckily I've only had 3... thanks to not using a QT when I got new fishes). I think as long as you catch Ich in the early stages, (when the fishes are flashing against objects), it works better. Otherwise, like someone else mentioned, when you notice any visual proof that your fishes have Ich, (white "salty" substance), you're pretty much hosed.