NEW FILTER IDEAS

[Nathan Explosion]

rite now i have a Emperor 280(4 years old) and a Seaclon 100 skimmer(1 month old) going, which works fine, but i am looking to upgrade. i know there are many different types and styles of filters . i am looking at going from a FOWLR tank to a reef tank. i have a couple of filters in mind but i want to know what everyone else reccomends. someone at a local pet store reccomended a Fuval 305, another reccomended a sump w/refugium, there are a lot of choices. i only have 1 fish, so feeding is at a minimal (once every 2-3 days). just kinda wondering about operating costs, ease of finding replacement media, ease of use of filter set up. i want to keep it around $200, rite now i still use tap water but will be switching to a RD/DI unit as soon as i close on my house (going from an apt to a house - YA!) that way i can just plumb it rite in. thats a whole different ordeal anyway.

as always thanks for the help!

[Robb in Austin]

For a reef setup, a sump/refugium will be best. Canister and powerfilter become nitrate factories and you don't want that with a reef setup.

Is your tank drilled? If not, and you are not planning on doing that, you'll need a overflow too. Hurricanes get good reviews and can be had for ~$40 on line.

The other thing to look at would be a skimmer upgrade. Of course, under $200 for a skimmer and a sump/fuge will be hard to do unless you get a screaming deal on some used equipment. For the money limit, making your own sump out of a 10g-20g will be the cheapest. The Bubble Magus skimmers have gotten decent reviews from what I have seen and are reasonably priced; although I am sure there are other options out there.

I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in too, but these are my thoughts.