Newbie with a Nano

[Jessie]

Thanks! I originally wanted a sump however, I do not have a reef ready aquarium - just a plain tank. I was going to try and remodel my aquarium but was told by my LFS that you cannot buy a pre-made overflow to silicone into a tank...they pretty much discouraged me from doing anything other than a) buying a canister filter or b) purchasing a reef ready tank and sump. I picked the less expensive option (canister) since I had just purchased this tank and couldn't return it (had goldies for 4 days in it).

I am looking into hob skimmers and how effective they really are compared to 20% weekly water changes (which in my case equals out to just over a 5g bucket so not very complicated).

Also, I will purchase powerheads tomorrow, I'm not sure if I need 1 or 2. I'm going to do some research later tonight to try and find out exactly what I need and then what I want (and then how much I'm willing to spend lol). I think I need 2 because my tank has quite a bit of rock and it all sits in the center with very little flow around the back.

I do have 2 questions, when cycling a tank with sand and rock from a previous 3 year old aquarium, should I be doing water changes (@ 20%) and cleaning the canister filter weekly?

@JmeJReefer - the canister I have claims a 303 gph flow rate, should I have gone with a higher flow rate canister? or a hob pump? What other options do I have if not a sump? TIA.