New tank - some questions

[Kellyscoral]

Hi all.... I have been pondering a new tank for some time now and today I have one! Previous tank was a 20 gallon tall with a huge mountain like rock that I hated. New tank is a 30 gallon IM. I have both a radion XR15pro and an AI Prime (never have used it) - will probably stick with the radion since I am familiar with it. Is the AI Prime better? I did not previously use a skimmer but have purchased a PSK 75H skimmer for the new tank.

I am leaning towards bare bottom with this tank - is there any reason why using sand is better? Do corals prefer it?

Filling it up and plugging in the heater tomorrow then off to buy live rock. i will be getting a selection of smaller removeable pieces instead of large rocks.

If anyone has any tips or tricks on aquascaping this tank I would love to hear them! Thanks!!