Advise needed for a tank change and hardware please.

[Ticketyboo]

Hi guys.... some advise please....

I have lots and lots and lots of questions as im pretty much a newbie to this.....

I have my 50 Gallon Bowfront with about 75 Lbs of live rock, 2 bags of live sand or so in there along with my 2 eels, 2 lionfish, cucumber, urchin, conch and starfish. Now i have just bought a 180 gallon acrylic tank, so im looking to transfer everything over to the larger tank. Now am i able to just add the extra 130 gallons of RO salt water into the larger tank, maybe add 30 Lbs more live rock to the tank and do an instant transfer of everything into the 180 from the 50? Or must i cycle the whole 180 tank before i transfer my stock over? wouldnt it be the same as basically a water change..... one heck of a big one i know, but would this be ok?

Also the 180 tank is used and comes with a sump which has 2 overflows running at 1/4 open etc, however the sump doesnt look that big, so does anyone have any suggestions as to how big a sump i should be using with a tank this size? Now im reading mixed reports about using bioballs in the sump, so whats your thoughts on this? should i be using bioballs in the sump? I'm pretty new to this so the more advise you have to offer the merrier.

There is no Skimmer present, so i was going to put one of my Remora Aqua C Pro skimmers in the sump to use. Would this work do you think? there is piping and compartment for an inline skimmer in the sump, but the previous owner used the system for freshwater, now im bringing it back to salt water.

The tank also has some small scratches on it, but not that noticeable and you cannot feel it with your finger nail, so what would be the best way to minimise the scratches, or remove it?

Im also looking add some corals into the tank that will work with my stock and PC lighting, will Zoos work in this tank do you think? as im abit of a zoo-a-holic right now... love them!!!! i just want to brighten the tank up abit rather than just have rock and sand.

Can i keep the unit upstairs? as its acrylic, its alot lighter than glass, but with the weight of the water, is it safe to have upstairs? i dont really have the option of the basement.

One more thing.... i was advised that you can just put standard aquarium sand in there and mix it with your live sand and in time this would become live sand, as it would be cheaper and i would like a deep sand bed in there, but is this true? would it work? as it really would save alot of money in there... Oh and would you reccomend the use of an external canister filter? or is the sump and live rock enough?

Thoughts anyone?

Regards..... David