i think fluval is a decent brand.. eheim is one of the top, but u dont have to get top brand.. i would go with something that doesnt contain bio-balls.. some of them have bio-balls, but i think u can just leave them out.. but im not too sure if u are supposed to run carbon all the time or not.. i think i may have read somewhere that its not too good for a reef tank, but then i heard the opposite too.. so im just gonna do mine every so often, like a week out of a month.. but i have a wet/dry plus soon to be fuge