You need to spend some time here

I'd say don't have sand in your tank for the first 2 months. All sorts of stuff will be falling off your rock as it's dieing off and it'll make your sandbed look like garbage. Add the sand once all the algae blooms your tank will go through have finished. Bare bottom tanks look ugly to some people but you don't have to run it bare forever, only during initial instable period.

Thanks for all the advise. I decided to go with a shallow sand bed (1-2 inches)

I think I just like the look of the sand. I don't mind the bit of extra work. I enjoy working on the tank.