He is referring to an HOB filter with the disposable carbon cartridges.
One thing I have been checking out lately is Bulk Reef Supply's youtube channel that has the 52 weeks of reefing series. They made a video (each week obviously) that documented the set up of a reef tank from start to getting stocked with corals and fish and discussed in pretty good detail things all the way from picking the right sump to maintaining calcium and alkalinity to different care requirements for corals.
Not saying that you should take their word on everything, but I think it is a good series to at least get introduced to many of the various aspects of reef keeping and from there you can check other places like product reviews or forums.
I saw that your dad is planning on getting a tank going, and this series would probably be particularly helpful and might even bring up some things you didn't think of.
Here is the link to the first week of the series-
I am new to the hobby and still learning pretty much everything, but I spend a lot of time researching things (and there is a lot of stuff out there to research!) and have been taking it pretty slow. So far so good
thank ya
