Which Filter Would you buy for a 75 gal reef?

[briandh76]

Need some opions on these filters. I'm leaning towards the 404 because I have had the old 304 for about 5 yrs now and it's doing a good job (when it is running motor is going bad)

 

[supaoopa]

Have a friend that runs 2 xp3's on a 125 and a xp2 on another tank. He swears by them. They pretty quiet too. Just a slight hum.

 

[malkore]

Honestly, I'm not into filtering reef tanks with anything but plenty of live rock, and a protein skimmer.

If forced to vote, i'd go with the Rena Filstar XP3.

 

[fishfreek]

I would say neither. For the reef your going to need alot more water current flowing thru the tank than either of those canisters will be able to produce. This will mean you will have alot of powerheads in the tank or multiple canisters. Instead I would suggest a sump system or a wet/dry system with a Mag 9.5 to return the water back to the tank. YOur main tank will need to either be drilled or a hang on overflow box used to get water from the tank to the filter.

 

[briandh76]

Ok so it seems that a wet/dry filter would be the best. Can anyone point me to a good place to buy one? I have about $120 that I can spend on this filter. There is no way that I can get my tank drilled. I have already talked to the local glass company about it and they told me that they would not be intrested in doing that because of the chances of the tank cracking. If i get the wet/dry should I take my 4 aquaclear 301 power heads out of the tank or just leave them in? Another ? since I have to go with an overflow. What are the chances that the wet/dry would overflow in case of an power outage? I don't plan on adding anything but fish to the tank if that makes a difference. I may add some corals but I'm going to wait untill my tank has been up for a year. I'm sorry for being such a pain but I'm very new to this and I thought I would know what I was doing considering I had a 75 gal brackish tank for about 5 years. Could I go with one of those filters for now and build my own sump out of a 10 or 20 gal tank to go along with it?

Here is what I found for a $115 with free shipping.

 

[fishfreek]

You can probably make up your own sump thats alot larger for less money expecially if your on a tight budget. The hang on overflow will not cause your tank to flood if its setup properly and kept maintaned. I clean my U tubes once a month and Every day I do a quick visual check to make sure nothings blocking the overflow intakes. When filling the sump you need to know where your max water line will be after accounting for some back wash from the tank via the returns. keep your operational water level below the point that holds it and the back flow and yoru fine with power outages.

I would also leave the powerheads in the tank for extra current. Its nearly impossible to have to much flow.

A home made sump can be made out of a 20 or 29 or 30 gal tank and some plexiglass and silicon to make some chambers. Add the overflow, plumbing and a return pump. Regretfully the return pump and the overflow is going to come close to your budget. The overflow you have pictured will require additional plumbing as well as a return pump to get the water back to the tank. I also dont see where the return is to connect on the sump as the top fitting is for the drain line from the overflow.

 

[briandh76]

Would this be a good buy?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46310&item=4375744943&rd=1

or
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46310&item=4375766506&rd=1