Thanks for the intros guys!
I would rather not get a protein skimmer if I can avoid it. I've read that certain things in the aquarium eat the matter left over, and you really just have to worry about ammonia and nitrates... Of course I'll proceed slowly and if I truly need one I'll get one.
I can't believe in this massive tank I can only have 8 fish! In my 35 gallon freshwater tank I had like 15 fish and no deaths for months at a time!
Air bubbler is for fresh water only? I thought it adds oxygen? Also I put the air bubbler in my sump so it will prevent the aenerobic bacteria from growing too much.
About corals I want... I dont know much but these look awesome:
Blue Green Sympodium Coral
I want basically corals like that. Long flowing ones that have insane colors!! thats all I care about. I want insane colors all over my tank! Flowing long tentacles that you just sit at in awe for hours at a time! I find SPS at this point to be pretty boring, but i'm sure as I get deeper I'll see why everyone likes them so much. I want a lot of movement in my tank, a lot of colors, and a lot of flowing wavey stuff. LOL I feel like im 15.
Also I have 3 young kids, so I want them to really enjoy it and learn a lot from the experience. Also for my wife, I know she will love to see all the beautiful colors and everything in general..
So I guess so far:
Sympodium corals
Bright Green Toadstool Coral
ORA Aquacultured Vargas Blue Cespitularia Leather
various polyps
frogspawn and frammer corals
hammer corals
elegance corals
torch corals
bright sun corals
All those corals I just looked at look so amazing I'm still shocked such things exist in the first place!
About fish......... I have no idea at all!!! I guess I will need some clownfish for certain corals yes? Also they are like 'nemo' im sure the kids will love them.. Any really cool fish! I love how the lionfish looks, but I read that its poisonous and eats other fish.... Anything really majestic would be awesome I think - and did I mention colorful??
Besides corals and fish, I know there are lots of other lifeforms in the tank I can look at. Everyone mentions the CUC, I'm guessing some shrimp and snails? I remember a year ago reading that there is a certain type of CUC that will create like a little car wash and the fish will line up to get cleaned by them, I definetly would love to get that!
I see many beginner mistakes here that are going to cause you major problems. I have posted this many time before, but it bears repeating, especially the part about getting a couple of good books on the subject.
Davek's Standard Lecture #1 – Advice for people new to the hobby
The very first thing you want to do, before you spend any money on equipment or livestock, is get yourself a few good books on state of the art reef systems. Then read and study them, so you have some idea about what your are doing.
Here are two to start with -
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner
The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paleta <---This book has an especially good section on fish suited to someone starting off in the hobby.
This is information that you can not easily obtain from the net. While it's out there, it's all over the place, and there is a massive volume of information. There is also a lot of bad information out there.
Once you get that done, plan or rethink your system. What do you want to keep? Do you have the necessary equipment? Do you have the knowledge to keep the livestock you want? Do you have the time to dedicate to keeping a system and it's livestock?
Many salt water fish, corals and inverts often have very specific requirements. Some are extremely difficult to keep alive, even if you do everything right. Before you get anything, research it, and be sure it will work out in your system.
Lastly, you will find that most LFS people are clueless when it comes to SW systems. Verify their advice, until they prove otherwise.
... End of standard lecture.
As for your specific post.
If you want a yes or no answer, yes, it is possible to run a large tank without a skimmer. That means possible. It doesn't mean it's a good idea. A good skimmer is so highly desirable that I'd say the vast majority of people keeping tanks this size use one. For the people that don't, look for them to be keeping a very unusual or specialized kind of system. I highly recommend you reconsider this.
SW systems are a completely different ballpark from their FW counterparts. Yes, the stocking limit for SW is typically about 1/5 of what you can put in a FW system. So yes, believe what your being told. If you don't want to believe me, consult the books I mentioned above.
Air stones and similar bubblers are just about worthless in SW. In a reef system you have massive circulation. That will give you fantastic gas exchange. Teh addition of air stones will not add to this. In addition in SW they clog easily, and produce massive amounts of salt creep from the water they splash. Not recommended.
Of the corals your looking at your selections are generally ok. Two exceptions though. Elegance coral is difficult to keep, and not a beginner coral. The sun corals have very specialized feeding requirements, and each polyp should be fed. You just can drop in some food for this coral. I recommend you choose other corals.
With SW fish and corals, you need to research each item you want to add. It's very easy to add something that will cause a problem for one reason or another. Some things to be on the lookout for are compatibility with your other livestock, livestock that will eat your other livestock, livestock that grows too big, corals and such that end up becoming "weeds" because of how they grow and take over. This is one of the major problem areas with many LFS. The either do not know about what they are selling or they choose not to inform you. Either way you end up loosing.
