New to Salt Water!

[nyrescue]

Ok i'm about to drain out my Oceanic 72 Gallon tank and go for the Salt water experiance. What I need to know is what is the basic equipment I need to get things started...at least as far as getting the tank cycled?? Ya know brands and so forth. Also what kind of water do I use to fill the tank...after all that would be alot of water..72 gallons. Oh and one last thing...how many pounds of live rock?? the rest I think I can handle from reading on this site.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

You'll get most of the information you are looking for from this post and the links within that post:
Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

[nyrescue]

Also what kind of water do I use to fill the tank??? Do you recommend and particular brand of equipment?

[leebca]

If you're referring to what artificial salt to use, that is pretty much up to you and what you expect from the mix. One of the high grade mixes for FOWLR salts is Tropic Marin. It is costly, being blended and produced in Germany.

There are many people who have had success with Instant Ocean salt. This is relatively inexpensive. Check to see what is available to you and reasonably priced, then post a question about that particular salt to see what other experiences may have been with that particular salt.

Brand names are also a mixed bag of choices. There are some equipment that requires a lot of maintenance to keep running properly. This equipment is low cost, but does require the maintenance. Then there is other top-end equipment with low maintenance and long-term reliable behavior that consequently carries a higher price tag. Much of what you will use is what is available to you.

If you start with inexpensive equipment and see what gives you what you want from it, either you can stick with it or change it out later. Brand names such as IWAKI, Eheim, etc. are often expensive, but reliable types of equipment.

[nyrescue]

Thank you..very helpful. One last biggie...Do i fill it with tap water then add the mix?

[leebca]

Never tap water. Put in your source water to the mixing container, start the mixing, then add the salt. See this for source water: WATER - Source and NSW