In our case with the hang-on, we were just going to go FOWLR and decided later to try a reef. So instead of trashing or storing the Penguin we left it in place and added the canister. As I've said, we're only going for "easy" to keep corals and we figured any type of filtration would help the cause. As far as the power heads, we use them for water movement not as filtration. I believe there are attachable filters for some powerheads, kinda look like a microphone; best comparison I can come up with. HTH with your ?s ,I cant speak for natelevi, hopefully this post will catch his/her attention.
As far as your algae outbreak, any number of things can cause that: high nutrient content, too much light, not enough clean-up crew, etc. If your questioning why you're having an outbreak, you'd have to post params, bioload, etc. for an answer to your problem. A filter doesnt guarantee an end to algae outbreaks, they may help to limit them to an extent. And I know you said you have a "cheaper" skimmer, but the ? is, Is it working? Are you getting good foam, is the cup collecting nasty green skimmate? Hope any of this info helps out.
