I bought the 180g off craigslist.......

they over rate the filters. once you have media in it slows the rate down a lot. i cant find the numbers off hand. maybe one fx5 and a rena xp3 or 4. on MFK you can often find the fx5 for under $200.

ok i think i found it. fx5 with media pumps at about 400 gal per hour which is just about 2x turn over. once it starts to get clogged it will be less then that. 2 fx5 would give you about 4x turn over and many people shoot for 5x-10x.
 
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

That's a decent explanation about how an overflow and sump works. Its saltwater-based, and way more complicated than anything you would need, but the picture at least shows the mechanics.

I also have a baby, and several tanks with sumps. It just depends on the stand you have for the tank - if its a full wood cabinet stand with doors, you put the sump under the tank and just get a latch for the door to keep the kid out.

However, if you decide to go planted with CO2, a sump will probably be out. They make very very efficient and useful filtration, but the one downside is they will gas off way too much CO2 to be practical for that application.
 
Thanks for all your feedback, Mgamer and sploke!

I'm intrigued by a sump. I'll have to do some more research.

One last question... what's the word on the quietest cannister available? I know that the Eheims are good as far as noise is concerned.... are there any better? My husband has really scary hearing (he can hear the neighbor's telephone ringing one house over) and he would rather not live with another annoying machine if he can help it.
 
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