making it alive

[th3potato]

first:my english is bad and sorry for this.
2nd: im am not in it anymore, i forgot the names of most of things so please help me if im out of track.
3rd: you can skip my story just to read wath i want, what i have and wath i should get.
i started my tank when i was 5 y.o., it was a 50 gallons and for a few years, i kept it a fish only tank while adding a few pounds of live rock every years. at about 12, i changed my main to get a 75 gallons and kept my old as a refugium, with the time i got up to 50 pounds of liverocks, a skimmer (not so bad actually) and a metal hallide (165w 20000k) with 2 regular (40w 10000k) lights.
eventually i got corals (4-5-6) and began having a good looking tank

sadly after a while (i still dont really understand why) i got a problem, everithing died, all fishes and corals within 2 weeks.

so i tried starting over, and now i have the lightning still going well, the water aint soo bad, my live rock is still boring (since i let my tank for dead during a few months) and i have 2 fishes one of my friend gave me for the moment (6 line wrass and blue hyppo)

so heres the deal, im now looking to invest money in my tank and get it to something much better than it has ever been. (i dont want to spend more than 800 bucks for the moment).

here is wath i have:
-protein skimmer (a great one)
-metal halide(165watt, and the metal box that goes with it) and 2 neons (48'') top with one fan.
75 gallons tank, 50 gallons refugium
1 coralia 750 gallons per hour (my other one is dead)
hydrometer, thermomether (nice one too), calcium and alkalinity tests
24'' 6700k 65W light over refugium (kept in place by big salad forks)
the pump that makes the water rotation between my refugium and my tank
my tank:
no sand, i use to have large pieces of coral gravel (kinda ugly, low grade quality) but it gets dirty and cant be cleaned easily. so there is nothing on the bottom.
2 cleaner shrimps, one orange and blue tuxedo urchin, 1 blue hyppo, one six line wrass.... thats it.
50 pounds of live rock
one moon light.

what i want to get:
-sand ! yep, im not sure of the size i will take (i want it easy to clean, and good if i want to get sandshifting strafish, small conch, hermit, all kind of shrimps, horseshoe crabs (not sure if i can...), tiger tails, nudibranchs...), i would like to get 1 and a half inch at least, i will begin with a hundred pounds and correct after.
The question is: do i need to buy lived one? and wath size?
- More live rock, i am looking for nice one (i think fuji is my favorite looking) and around 35 more pounds.
here is the question: where can i get high quality stones, and big ones, i dont like dealing with 2 pound ish stones, and i want to make sure i dont get too smalls ones after delivery. i want them cured, and with coralline or other stuff on them if possible. i dont care paying 8$ a pound or even a tad more.
-a coralia 1050 water pump (so at all it makes 750 and 1050, is it too much?, should i take 2 750?)
-full test kit, a big kit of tests, wath are the most importants?, i have always tested calcium and alkalinity but im pretty sure i have other things to check (ammoniac, nitrites, nitrates????)
- lightning:
it makes a while i have this 165 watt and i feel like i might get moore lightning soon, i know that it is not what is the most important for he moment. im am not sure of wath i can get from this lightning... but i think it might be good to upgrade now before i regret it, i am not looking forward acroporas, just anemones, ricordias, brains and candy cane style corals. i also like hammer coral (really like to have one) and fox corals.
-better filtration
i might use my 404 fluval filter, i unplugged it a few years ago thinking my swump was enough, but i realise that i might be usefull to plug it back, if i do what components will help for what the skimmer does not do? (biomax, carbon, bioballs...)

thank you for reading and if you cans answer any of my questions, that would make me very happy...
btw: i know i might cost more than 800$, i have more, might not buy all at one, just want to have a general idea of wath you guys think i should get...


and also... is UV stereliser important? i heard it killed every bacteria, even the good ones, i think ive been told bullshit about it... can anyone send me a link to a good article about it, im not sure about how good it is, but once i understand more about it, it might become part of the things i want to buy...

thanks...

-th3potato

[melosu58]

As far as the sand just get dry aragonite sand. It will become live overtime and will be much cheaper. As far as the rock just buy dry base rock and seed it with a few pieces of LR from your LFS tank. You can buy all LR if you want and you might not see a cycle. But the dry Base rock will become live over time also. About the UV, while they do do a good job and I had one a while back they only kill parasites and algea spores that travel through the lighted chamber. Any that are anywhere else esp. down near the substrate will not be effected. It is definitely not a must have but depending on funds it`s up to you. They can be a help.

[th3potato]

thank you very much, i will check out prices on dry aragonite sands and might buy base rocks, plus since they are cheaper, i might look around my locals stores to be sure to get these big chunks. About the UV i might consider it if i have alga problems one day, till them, the skimmer and the janitors (im shopping for them) will do the job.
thank you for your time =D

also your reef is wonderfull =D, do you think i got enough ligtning to keep corals like your pretty purple and blue brain? or that hammer coral?

[melosu58]

What type lighting? I see 165 watts. You should be OK with soft and LPS corals like brains and hammers.

[th3potato]

thank you , its a metal halide