Powerhead?

[justinl]

Assuming your local tap TDS is on the high side (compared to vancouver water), yeah Id say use RO/DI. Whether or not you use RO/DI during the cycling process is irrelevant imo. either way, you're probably going to get that algae outbreak. you'll probably want to switch over to RO/DI after that though.

For the powerheads, it all depends on what kinds you want. tunze? koralia? maxi-jet? Personally, Im too cheap for the tunze, but i think the maxijets are somewhat on the ugly side; plus the MJ's flow is a pretty concentrated stream. I prefer the koralias for the wide stream and the pretty slick (imo) design. It also depends on what you want in the tank. FOWLR? mixed, LPS, SPS, softy reef?