Oh, Myka. I missed your post. Thank you! I'll definitely check out all suggested -- in the meantime I'll keep the fluval running for some flow, and whenever I can drag my butt into the city I'll go shopping.
As for spending the money -- I walked into this knowing SW tanks weren't cheap, and why even bother if I'm not willing to spend a buck (or 50)?
As much as I might choke on $50 of "just rocks", I'm a sucker for the best! Or, at least, NOT the cheapest....