Do I need a protein skimmer ?

[shimbox]

about to set up a 40 G tank.The only 2 fish in their will be 2 clowns.What I am mostly interested in keeping in this tank is a variety of inverts such as a shrimp,some crabs, snail, cucumbers, starfish etc.
for filtration I will have enough live rock and live sand.I will also change 20% of the tanks water every week.
so could this work without a protein skimmer ?

 

[meowzer]

YES, you can successfully keep a FO tank w/o a skimmer
JUST remember stars need VERY established tanks, and depending on what type you want, your tank may not be able to sustain one

 

[jstdv8]

lots of LR, LS and frequent water changes works.
You need to be sure not to overstock the tank and keep up on your testing to be sure the tank isnt going south on you in some way.

 

[al mc]

As others have stated you can run a tank without a skimmer but if you can afford one I would add it even with frequent water changes that you have planned. Inverts are more susceptible to slight changes in pH, temp., salinity involved with water changes..so be careful when doing them.