Reef Cycling Question

[S_Hurley]

Hi! I just got my 75 gallon tank and I was wondering how you cycle it. I know how to cycle freshwater but saltwater I am totally clueless. I need to know everything from what water I put in to whether or not put in coral and rocks or not yet, also do I need a different filter than the canister I have?

 

[nightryder1405]

There are diff ways to cycle your tank. The way i did mine was i used a 30 gallon trash can to premix my salt to get the SG at 1.024. If you use tap water condition the water to remove the chlorine. Ask your local fish store if they sell RO/DI water as this would be better and there would be no need for conditioners. I used live sand, add your rocks, and i used bio-spira. Now i know there are a lot of neg things said about it but it always worked for me. Your canister filter should be fine for now, right now im using a hang on the back. Def look into a skimmer for the future. I still ran my lights for 8 hrs a day but some ppl say you dont need to keep them on during the cycle.
Good luck.

 

[obscurereef]

Some other basic info:
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice