If you are kickstarting the cycle with filter material from a fully cycled tank you don't want to let the new tank and old material sit empty. Without an ammonia source in the new tank the bacteria on the old filter material will die off, then when you put fish in you'll be starting all over again.
If you have spare time, set the new tank up, get the filter and heater and so on all running.
Then once the temp is up to where it will stay, put some of the filter material from your old cycled tank in the new ones filter.
It doesn't have to be the whole cartridge, just some of it.
Then add some ammonia, if you can find pure ammonia thats best, failing that a cooked coctail shrimp works great, and a pinch or two of fish food works fairly well too.
Now it's cycling, let run and test the water daily.
If you are using ammonia add 2ppm or so each day.
If you are using a shrimp, leave it alone.
If you are using fish food give it a pinch each day.
When you start getting lots of nitrates your filter is ready to rumble.
Do a 95% water change, plop your fish in, and party!
If i'm lucky, the above all made sense. Today isn't one of my more coherent days.