I'm actually 15 (started with SW when I was 13)... and bought my seaclone for the same reason as you. Your better of saving the money and getting a decent skimmer later on, rather than wasting it on junk that you'll probably want to upgrade down the line. The coralife super skimmer is ok, and costs about the same.
Some stuff you should know:
- to achieve optimum skimmer performance, the skimmer needs to be placed in it's own section of a sump (wich should b just big enough for the skimmer to fit), where the water level always stays at the same level (otherwise your skimmer will need to be constantly adjusted), and it should be fed with water directly from the overflow.
- You will want to add a sump to your tank from the start - this way you can use a drilled tank wich is the most reliable way to do it- otherwise, down the line you will wish you had down this (I know this becuase I'm in that position - worst part is I just upgrded my tank in january and could have done this then). The reasons you will want a sump: well designed in sump skimmer are cheaper then thier hang on tank counter parts (FYI, in the case of euroreefs, the HOT is twice as much as the in-sump, plus you can make them work better; certain pieces of equipment can only be used in a sump; You'll only have powerheads in the main tank and; evaporation will not be noticed in the main tank.
- If your planning on a fish only tank (I don't think you are since ypu posted this in the reefkeepers forum), you can ignore the above, as most fish are fine with cheap equipment and don't need excellent water quality.
You don't need to have all the high end equipment from the start (or maybe not ever, if you don't get into high end corals), but I would definitely get the tank drilled (I would suggest going with lager hole(s) than you need, then using a valve to limit the flow, just incase you want to use a larger return pump down the line) and setup a sump from the start, as after you set it up, you will either have to use a less reliable and much more expensive HOT overflow, or tear the tank down to drill it (not good for the inhabitants) in order to add a sump.
trying to keep everything to under 100$
Do you mean $100 a piece or $100 for the whole thing? If the later... don't count on it.
