Buying a sump/refugium/etc.

[Bendog450]

I'm switching my tank from it's current closed loop canister filter system to a sump/fuge. I'm not very knowledgeable about it and, while I probably could, am not looking to DIY on the sump.

I'm thinking of buying an Eshopps R-200 sump/refugium and an Eshopps S-200 skimmer... what return pump should I get?

What should I put in the refugium part? Does everyone go with miracle mud or is a deep sand bed just as good?

Do you think those are good choices on buying a more plug-n-play set up or should I be looking at something else?

My tank is a 125 gallon, have some corals but wanting more. I have about 100 pounds of live rock and 7 fish so not a huge bio load but I'm probably too much of an over feeder so I'm not helping matters any. The reason I'm wanting to convert is my nitrates seem to stay on the high side of safe and I'm doing seemingly constant water changes to keep them even at that level.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[angelfish4]

With sumps bigger is better if you have the space for it. Go with the bigest one you can fit, check your dimensions and recheck. How big a return pump depends on how much water you can flow out of your tank. Some of the flow rates can be from 5x tank vol. up to 15x tank vol. Are you going to drill the tank or syphon over the rim? Anyway figure out your overflow rate and get a pump to match that after head loss.