I am still a dummy with this

[a fish called marius]

hi all this is my first tread so here goes.
I am in proses of buying my first marine tank 264 gallons
And i wonderd what was the best to use live sand or crussed corral

[jojo22]

Sand every day of the week. Crushed coral is nothing but problems!!

[graphixx]

Marius, first off welcome aboard. Man you are going big from the get go!!! as Joe stated sand is much better. crushed coral get detrius and other gunk trapped in the sand bed and it just festers in there. the sand is a much safer and cleaner method to use.
how about a little background on what your tank is going to consist of.

[a fish called marius]

I saw the tank in a local petshop and fell in love with it. It is 2,7m long
600cm high and 600cm high. It is build into a oak cabinet realy awesome.

I had some mixed mesages from the supplyers here in south africa , regarding the sand or crussed corral. Thanks for setting me right.

My first problem is getting the tank in my bedroom (will Have to remove a window LOL )

so my planning is as follows (i did do a couple of days recearch here )
I am sure it is not enough But you have to start some were.

Start with a good sand bedding 2 to 3 inches
Add a big buccet of salt , not sure yet how first the water and then the salt in the tank or mix it in a new bucet heating the water and test with a hydrometer.

I want to build up slowlly to a reef tank

1 x proteen skimmer 2 x pumps for current 1 x sump filter 1 x heater

and a couple of pounds of live rock as mush as i can afford for now
That first has to be curred (not quite sure how that works yet exactly)
The supplyers here in south africa have the live rock set up in salt tanks with lights and all that. So could one just use that or does it still have to be curred

5 x t5 lights for now

once got it all set up water inthe tank ( RO UNIT water)

lett it stand with all the equipment running exept proteen skimmer.

pop in 1 x molly (Fresh water)

6 week later 1 X memo
and hoppfully every ting will be well

[graphixx]

as for the salt, I would get a big trash can and mix it in there. fill it with water then the salt and drop a powerhead in there for an hour or 2.
and the LR is your decision. the more the better but you can allways add more down the road.
as for the molly I would forgoe that and get the tank filled let sit for a day or 2 and drop a raw cocktail shrimp in there to get the cycle started. if you have a LFS that will sell you a couple of cups of their sand in an allready established tank that will help.
also get a good book and start reading. your tank will go through some changes in the cycle process. usually takes 3-6 weeks for the cycle to finish. y ou want to wait a bit to throw "nemo" in there.
but sounds like you have got the ball rolling.