As far as the moving part, moving them in coolers is a good idea, you might even want to throw heat packs in the coolers with the fish. Moving the rock and sand in buckets or rubbermaids isn't bad either, but they can't get too cold either or you'll have some die-off. I know how fast things get cold in that temperature (it's -16 here). Also, just be sure you put all this stuff INSIDE a vehicle when moving, not in the back of a truck or anything, even with heat packs it'll get too cold.
Yes, quarantine everything that goes into your tank. For fish, I would recommend about a week, give or take. The easiest way to QT a fish is buy a 10 or 20 gallon tank, set it up with just a filter, heater, and water that you change from your main tank. Make sure the parameters are as close to your main tank as possible.
For the lid, I like the glass tops better (I think they're easier to clean), but the 72 gallon may be an odd shape (bowfront?), and you'll probably have an easier time finding an acrylic cover.
On test kits, I would recommend getting Calcium, Iodine, and Phosphate kits if you plan on keeping a reef. Otherwise, you might just want to consider a Phosphate kit. And as for the water composition, I would use only RO/DI (pure) water and a good salt mix. A good salt mix will have everything you need in it, especially for a fish-only/live rock system. Additives can turn out to be harmful for your inhabitants unless you really know what you're doing with them. Even then, usually you only need additives in reef systems to replenish nutrients.
Hope this all helps. Good luck!  |