ideas needed for setup...?

[yardy]

Ive been rasing freshwater fishes my entire life and finally decided to mess around with saltwater. Ive been doing alot of research for the past few months but still needs alot of tips and ideas from everyone. Im plannig on going with mainly live rocks and a few corals but still undecided how to lay everyting out. Any landscaping ideas? I will take some better pics of the tank and post. Here is what I can remember off the top of my head so far.
115 3/4 tank
2 drilled holes in bottom

 

[btldreef]

Nice tank. I've heard flow can be an issue in those tanks, just a thought.

 

[yardy]

Thanks. Ive heard that after i purchased it lol, but I went with this setup because I wanted to do something different. Here are my plans along with some more pictures of the tank itself and the sump that came with it. Place I purchased everything from said that the sump is ready to go and the only thing that I would have to occasionally do is rinse the blue sponge and the canister from the protein skimmer. I was thinking of throwing a few live rocks in there but not sure if i needed it. Any opinions???????
As you can see from the pics the back wall is flat and is about 28 inches wide with the overflow in the middle. I still have alot of room on both side to place power heads and I was thinking of getting one of the vortech's and placing it in the back wall because I hate seeing the wires hanging in the tank. Next option would be to get a regular one and silicone the wire to the tank and let it blend in with the back glass. Not sure where to place it tough.. ( top aiming down, middle or bottom) Any ideas? Or will 1 not be enough? Will i need to get a UV sterilizer or not?. I was thinking of going with an LED lighting setup but have been getting mixed reviews about the light not being sufficient enough for the live rocks and corals. Any ideas on which one to choose? Ok here are the pics..... Thanks

 

[btldreef]

I prefer not to keep rocks in the sump. I used to and they were collecting detritus and becoming more of a problem than a help. If you're going to turn part of the sump into a refugium, then live rock rubble is acceptable.
I love the EcoTech Vortech powerheads. I run two in my 155, I was actually going to suggest that you might want to look into the MP40's for this style tank. I think you'll be able to get better flow than you will with a conventional power head. As for it's placement, probably better if it's on the side of the tank. This will cross with the return pump and should create good flow, but a lot will depend on how your rock work is set up as every tank is different.
We've been researching LED's pretty hard lately. I'd like to cut down on the electric cost, especially since we're about to move. It seems that if you do all your research, DIY set ups seem to work best. If you're not a DIY person, Acan Lighting makes fabulous LED fixtures. I've seen them on numerous tanks growing everything from soft corals to SPS.
Live rock does not need lighting, but in order to get that purple algae (coralline) to grow, it needs lighting.

 

[yardy]

Thanks for the response and the help. I was thinking of geting this sand.?????
**Please don't post links to Ebay or other competitor sites**
As far as the powerhead goes, sice the tank is curved, the only place i would be able toplace the pwer head in on the back. Maybe if i get the MP40 and put it on full blast aiming directly across to the front; the curved glass will carry the current around to the rest of thetank, just a thought.....
Acan lights look great but I will do some research on the DIY setup and see what i come up with.

 

[btldreef]

I did peak at that link before it got deleted. Links to Ebay aren't really allowed here.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of making live purchases from there anyways. You don't want Lava rock in your tank. Lava rock (or rubble) can contain metals that can be harmful to your tank as they leach out over time, so any reef supplier that is using Lava rock/rubble as a selling point, I would not trust.
Save yourself some money and get dry sand. Many LFS's sell bagged wet "live" sand and dry sand. I prefer the wet "live" sand (even though it's not truly live sand), but have used the dry with no issues. The dry is cheaper. Either route you go, try to find either a local fish store in your area or other members in the hobby and buy a few cups of live sand from their established reef. Put these cups of sand right on top of your new sand and it will seed it and help it become live sand. If you want to go with all live sand from the beginning, SWF has some of the best live sand out there https://www.saltwaterfish.com/Premium-Keys-Live-Sand--10lbs--FREE-Shipping_p_847.html This is TRUE live sand right from the ocean floor.
The MP40 with a strong return pump will probably work. You might want to consider an MP40 AND an MP10, one high and one low. I'd start with the MP 40 and see how things go. A lot will depend on how your rock work is set up.