How much weight should i dive with?

let me start by asking what will you be doing when you dive? Are you wearing a wetsuit and if so what type(farmer brown, full?) what thickness will your wetsuit be? Dan sells a great weight belt at a good price.
Reel if you are shallow and hunting small fish and dont want the hassle of a float line, as you progress you may go reel for everything but monsters... BUT is it not a regulation that you have to dive with a flag ? if so then for sure float line, as it is the safest way of hunting.

Dude do yourself a favour and read up on what you plan to be doing... you could hurt yourself or others at the stage of ignorance you are at and just planing to "go for it"

I didn't mean ignorance in the bad sense but simply a lack of information. Forgive me if it sounded harsh, you debating wearing weights in colder water was just a bit alarming
For a guy your size diving shallow I would start off with 6-8lbs, you should walk with 4 lbs more in 2lb increments to add in if necessary. I like to be weighted so I can still float on the surface but can sink when I dive, nothing worse for me than fighting to stay on the bottom when diving shallow.
I just read your posts, you are asking the right questions and seem to be going about this the right way. The cali guys can give you kelp tips, I have never seen kelp :@

I don't think there is a way to "minimize" tangles on a big fish in kelp. I think the fish is going to do what it wants. A reel will probably make it easier to swim around without a line. That being said if something messes up on your breakaway or you get a backlash on your reel you will have to let go of your gear. Also, trying to follow your reel line through the kelp will be more visually challenging. I just bought a 120ft high vis yellow skinny gannet float line yesterday. Plan on getting a gannet snake float for it. Kelp carrots don't look bad either. Either one will pass through the kelp without getting caught up. These aren't fish fighting floats as much as a hand hold if the fish takes all your floatline.

I remember someone having an equation for assesing weight depending on your weight and suit. I have a 5mm suit and dive with 22 pounds and im neutral around 20 feet but i weight 240lbs. You will have to play with your weight belt till you feel comfortable with it. As far as reel vs float line. Float line is safer more visible and probably better as a new diver for those reasons. Plus if you drop your gun you can follow your line back to it in bad viz.

I wore my new 5mm suit for the first time a few weeks back and in fresh water I needed 8-10 lbs depending on depth (never deeper than 50'). I am about same weight as you but a couple inches taller. I guess you should expect to need at least 10+ lbs in saltwater

Yep. Diving a thick wetsuit at 20 feet will require a lot of weight to be able to lay on the bottom without fighting it.

But remember, if you're going to go even another 15 feet, your wetsuit will compress a lot and you'll start sinking faster.

even with only a 1.5 or 3 mil suit here, I take off a 2-4 lbs if I'm planning on diving deeper than 50-60 feet. If I'm going to hunt the shallows I add.

I would take two 5# and four or five 2# weights down to a shallow area and see how it feels and adjust. You should also practice ditching your belt so it becomes a mindless task.

Quote from Austin

Thanks for all the help everyone! I think i'm oing to go with a float line because it seems safer. Anyone know a good place t get cheap weights? On amazon their like $20 for a 2 pound weight

Cheap weights are rare, call all your local dive stores.

Ive seen lead fo for 7 bucks a pound in redondo beach at freesdive and spear and at sports chalets.

Quote from Austin

Thanks for all the help everyone! I think i'm oing to go with a float line because it seems safer. Anyone know a good place t get cheap weights? On amazon their like $20 for a 2 pound weight

Craigslist/sportinggoods search for "LEAD".....:thumbsup2:

That's a good idea ^

Lead shouldn't be that expensive. Online prices are usually pretty high because they offset additional shipping costs. 5$ per lb is a decent price for uncoated lead.