120 gallon reef. Finally getting setup need advice

So the tank is almost filled with ro water. Everything is plumbed. The sand is in and it's heating up. I have not added salt yet it's a start from nothing and dead sand collecting.
Mainly going to be a soft coral and Lps tank but I will throw anything cheap in there to try it.

With my sump I have the largest aqueon pro sump. My question is should i add sand to the refugium area or mud or leave it bare bottom?
I figured I would like to add a good amount of plants in there but overall I'm newish to the reef world and need some help. My bio cube has done well for the past 6 or so months and this is the next task and a tank that I can expand into. All help is appreciated. Also with your advic please give any pros and cons. I love the bare nbottom idea but don't know how often that is done. Sand is easy to come by and have heard people using all sorts of small grain sands like play sand or paver sand even will do.

Edited by DIDYSIS - February 25 2014 at 7:07pm

I don't really want to start a fuge vs no fuge fight, but honestly you will be just fine with whatever you decide. Tanks with and without refugiums all do great. Coarse sand and rubble can cause detritus buildup, but that's not saying it's not beneficial as well. (Look at how well your Biocube has done with just mechanical filtration)

Personally, unless you want something to look at underneath your sump, I would just go with a skimmer, filter sock, some filtration media and all the other necessities (heater, pump.etc) and then turn the fuge area into a mini frag tank with some decent flow.

Edited by Ahanix - February 26 2014 at 12:36pm

This hobby is not simple like freshwater.

DIDYSIS wrote: ...overall I'm newish to the reef world and need some help. My bio cube has done well for the past 6 or so months and this is the next task and a tank that I can expand into. All help is appreciated. Also with your advic please give any pros and cons.

pros and cons? There are plenty but we haven't really offered many... yet.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it kind of sounds like you already have your mind made up. Are you really looking for advice to avoid mistakes or are your toes already at the edge of the water just waiting to jump in?

Edited by Mark Peterson - February 26 2014 at 5:31pm

I'm looking for Ideas and thoughts. But I have the understanding and have been around forums and the hobby long enough I know everyone has their personal opinions on what is best or others will just share what works for them. I am at the point anymore with fish keeping that many methods work and can be just as good as the other and eventually my system will evolve and change when I need to or find a desire to do so. My freshwater tank has gone through a few changes over the years to try different things and to grow it to a better machine. That's part of being an addict.    And saying reef keeping is harder than a freshwater setup is not true in my experience. We all follow the same cycle and fight nitrates.  And they are both very enjoyable. I'll take the cheap cost of freshwater tank stuff any day though.  But my food bill is insane.       

Mark Peterson wrote: This hobby is not simple like freshwater. DIDYSIS wrote: ...overall I'm newish to the reef world and need some help. My bio cube has done well for the past 6 or so months and this is the next task and a tank that I can expand into. All help is appreciated. Also with your advic please give any pros and cons.  pros and cons? There are plenty but we haven't really offered many... yet. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it kind of sounds like you already have your mind made up. Are you really looking for advice to avoid mistakes or are your toes already at the edge of the water just waiting to jump in?

Edited by DIDYSIS - February 27 2014 at 7:26am