Newbie looking for help!

Bigger tanks offer more stability as far as water quality goes. In that respect it's much better to have a larger tank. With the (I think you mean) biocube you are pretty limited as far as corals go especially without the lighting upgrade (assuming you didn't purchase it preinstalled).

I've never heard of the 130D but I have the 250 which is a very amazing tank. Had it been out when I started my tank I would have definitely went that route.

 

No, if the 250 were out when I started my saltwater tank I would have purchased it. If I remember correctly it's about 1500.00+-.

 

as far as bigger is better...that is absolutely true. The more water the more room you have for minor mistakes without most of them turning out to be tragedies. Also, larger volumes of water are easier to keep stable.
IF your looking to start out the right way and dont have a ton of $...because believe me it gets expensive fast...I'd recommend buying bits and pieces of good quality equipment (with focus being on a good filter that's easy to maintain and a high quality skimmer...and I'd honestly look into a sump if your planning on starting large).
Good Luck! If your truly dedicated and ready for some days when you ask yourself why did you take the leap in the first darn place...then it will be worth it when you can sit next to the tank and just enjoy watching the gorgeous colors/variety of saltwater specimens

 

Trust me... 75 gallons is not "so big" once you have things running, and many books and online resources recommend this as a minimum size for beginning marine aquarists because of the difficulty and expertise needed to keep smaller tanks stable. The smaller the tank, the harder the maintenance...

Also - a tank this size would offer the opportunity of doing a trick sump or the like within the stand large enough for decent skimmers, and being only 48" long and a whooping 18" wide you can do some serious lighting on a budget !

 

Normally is live rock is cured, it will be listed as such. Cured live rock is basically when everything dead falls off and is "clean" and starts to grow coral, algae, etc etc on it that was preexisting.

Live sand is generally the way to go. Some people mix some live sand and crushed coral, like I did. That seems to look more natural.

 

aragonite helps buffer (prevent PH dips)... I would strongly recommend fine substrate (sugar-sized) vs larger crushed substrate because less detritus will get trapped down there and rot.

90's an awesome size to go with. Just be mindful when your stepping up past 75gal that your floor needs to be able to support what your doing (I wouldn't recommend over 75gal on an upper floor of the house, make sure you place tank perpendicular to floor joists, etc)

And yes - sumps are by far the way to go. I'd recommend avoiding bioballs (another detritus trap that turns them into nitrate factories) and consider whether a refugium or deep sand bed (over 3") would be appealing options in your sump so you can pick or make one that suits both your current and future interests (both are forms of natural nitrate reduction)

If you want to seriously pursue corals, high flow and serious skimming can be as important, if not moreso then strong lighting. take your time and enjoy it!

 

u should at least start with 30gallon or small to see if you like it. most of the time people start with a big tank and dont want to spend the time to care for it. and end up selling to whole set up for cheap. so i go out and buy that cheap deal. lol. this hobby consume a lot of time and money to up keep. it's nice to have a tank to show to people but if u dont spend any time to up keep it than there wont be much to show. i to start with a 100gallon and now i down graded to a 30gallon cube frag tank. i spend about 3 hour a day +/- 30 minutes on cleaning, feeding, check, looking at fish(for problem), looking at coral(for problem), etc...
hope this help.

 

I do this with my fresh tank too!

For me I dont have coral, but I do look at my plants and think of better ways I can aquascape the tank.

 

*Bleep* $1700 just to have a complete saltwater tank. i build my 100gallon for under $700. i got most of my stuff from people that is parting out or getting out of the hobby. i down graded to a 30gallon cube and made about $1000 back because most of the coral grow out and divide them self. i spend about $300 for my 30gallon. everything was bought from different people. and that save a lot of money than brand new.

 

good start. just make sure u take it slow. anything else just ask.