Trial and error has shown that any marine tank does "better" with rock.

I am sure you CAN go without, but why? You can do good, or you can do great. Fish appreciate the hiding areas, and benefit from the pods and whatnot that they find to munch on.

Thats my opinion anyhow.

Plus a tank without rock would be plain and boring. IMO.

Don't get me wrong I like the look of live rock and appreciate it for its looks and function in my current reef tank.

I just like the look of the slate rock I have in my Cichlid tank as well and am just going for a different look in this new project. The fish will have plenty of hiding places in this set up as well. Although I agree the pods etc will not be present like in a LR tank.

I am also going to try to do this somewhat affordably so I am keeping the coralife compact with daylight and actinics for this and know I dont need expensive lighting for it. I will likely put my money most into the skimmer and a new sump (or used :lol:)

I have a little UV sterilizer for my Cichlid tank so may first just use that and restrict the flow in it.

The other idea I had was to consider mangroves. I like trying new things and I have never used them for my reef tank. Maybe mangroves in the sump with some light etc.

Great advice if you have a lot of cash to burn on dead fish. There are a lot of other reasons to not buy any fish you see other than being reef compatible. Do the research before buying any fish! Compatability, special diet, etc.

Great advice from you. We have an obligation as reefers to provide the optimum of care for all the critters we remove from the ocean

Yo, what I mean is that I'm assuming the op is savvy with fish husbandry, as he already has a large reef tank, and would know about asking about fish diets and special needs. What I mean is that if he saw a nice queen angel or even a goldflake angel, maybe a clown trigger, he could get them without worrying about whether they would eat his corals or invertebrates.
How many times have you been in a fish store and saw the most beautiful fishes, but regrettably have to pass because they weren't reef safe?
As for hiding places, the slate slabs make beautiful caves and crevices for hiding.

If you don't think I know my fish, I've been in the hobby for 35 years. Reef for 20 years.

Good point. There is an absolutely gorgeous parrotfish at King Ed's that selling for a good price but I can't bring it home because I don't have a big fish only tank for it.

I know what u mean, I actually bought a gorgeous one at j&l the other day, but had to return it cause I bumped into Jason darr who was shutting down his big reef, and bought about 30 corals from him. Would have been an expensive dinner for the parrotfish. Lol
Seahorse, which tanks u still running? How's that eheim pro filter work out that I gave you?

I'm sure the OP knows this but a lot of people new to salt water also read these posts and may take things very literally. I forget that anyone could be reading what I write as well and am sure I've probably inadvertently posted some bad advice if the context was unknown.

+1000

In my case in particular there still is a lot I don't know about saltwater species because I have avoided many fish for my 120 G reef. After having Cichlids for years I really didnt want to deal with a lot of fish aggression. So I have 6 fish in my reef but all farily small and polite to each other :lol:

I plan on researching any fish I get for the next tank and only asked for suggestions because of the expertise on this board and the fact that I can be lazy and get recommendations and have some great conversations about fish at the same time :redface:.