Getting set up to start new tank - opinions

[Cloudburst2000]

Hey everyone,

I am in the process of taking down my 25g reef tank. Nothing special about the tank. Standard 25g tall with 150w MH, 2 Koralia nanos, and CPR HOB fuge. All livestock has been moved to my other two aquariums. Things I didn't like about this tank. The tank was a bit cheap-looking, and I wanted a cleaner more modern look to go with my mid-century modern decor. Stand was okay but didn't match decor in room, hated the substrate (crushed coral), wanted to upgrade PHs, wanted to replace MH lighting with LED.

Anyhoo, after months of putting it off mostly due to laziness :embarrasssed: I was finally forced to make the change because my nephew put a chip in the tank. It's probably fine but I'd rather be safe then sorry. After researching tanks, I decided to go with the Elos line. I love their rimless tanks and even the stands that go with them. Plus, the tanks are so solid and well-built. I considered the Elos Mini but didn't really want to lose the extra five gallons so I upped the tank the the Elos Midi which is 36g. The Elos Midi comes with tank, stand, sump, plumbing, skimmer, and pump. Now, I plan on replacing my live rock with a better quality rock...likely rock from reef cleaners. I'll seed it with a couple nice rocks from the 25g. The rest of the live rock will be sold. Is reefcleaners the best dry rock available? Who else has good quality dry rock? I like John at reefcleaners so good customer service is also a must. I want a more minimalist look with this tank so how many pounds of the rock should I be looking for. I know the rule of about 1.5lbs or rock per gallon. how does this translate when wanting a more minimalist rock display? Should I have some live rock in the sump in that case to up my surface area for the nitrifying bacteria?

I also plan on chucking the horrible crushed coral substrate and getting sand. Is a DSB a good thing or not? I've heard about DSBs crashing tanks. Sounds a bit risky to me, but do people think the benefits outweigh the risks?

I plan on replacing the Koralia Nanos with a Vortech MP10...or should I get an MP20...or should I get two MP10s? Is one MP10 enough for a 36g tank? Are two too much flow? I've heard good things about Vortechs but never used them so it's all hearsay.

I also plan on getting either an AquaIllumination Sol module and turn it long ways on the tank. If I do this I will be building my own mounting unit...either a hanging unit or some type of mounting tree as I refuse to use the ridiculously ugly mounting unit made by AI. The other LED I am considering is the Elos E-Stripes. The would look really good on the tank in an aesthetic way...very stylish and sleek, but I doubt that they give the same performance as the AI lights. Plus, they are quite a bit more expensive and not controllable like the AI. I'm strongly leaning towards the AI.

Basically, I want to get everyone's opinions on this set-up. Any changes I should make? Pieces of equipment I should add that I haven't included above? Thanks!