No Sump?

[kynekke]

I've been reading and reading to try and get my tank set up. My husband is anti-fish btw, so I'm doing this all on a budget and with no help. My question being... do you HAVE to have a sump? Here's what I have and was going to start to cycle it this week... all in tank. This will be a FoWLR for probably about a year.
55 gallon tank w/stand
Penguin 350B Power Filter
200watt heater (will buy another in the winter)
2 Maxi-jet 600 Power heads
Satellite 24-Hour Lighting System
I have enough sand atm to put a 2" bottom but more is coming along with some LS
LR is coming too, not sure how many pounds
Is that ok for some rock and maybe 5 fish? Also... I was looking through pictures and HOW do you get the LR with the gorgeous purple covering?? I want a neon tank (sorry, can't help it), I want vibrant pinks, oranges, blues, purples and that LR was perfect.
Picture of Purple Rock
The purple on AzFishGal's rock is what I'd like to try and find if it's possible to pick.

 

[garnet13aj]

I don't have a sump in my 55. From what I understand, a sump becomes more important the bigger your tank is and a 55 is pretty small.
Essentially the way to get bright coralline is to pick out bright coralline. From what I hear, saltwaterfish.com LR is really beautiful.

 

[nicetry]

You don't need a sump. It simply allows for more water volume and a more stable system, along with providing a place to hide your heater, skimmer, etc..
I didn't see a skimmer on your list. If your budget allows, a decent hang on skimmer would be a good investment. Figure about 50-70 lbs of LR over time. A 2 inch sand bed is fine. I'd personally upgrade the maxi jets to 9's or 12's. The 600's are okay but more flow is a good thing. The rest looks respectable.

 

[dragonzim]

I've been running my 75 for over a year and a half without a sump and had a 55 for 2 years before that, also without a sump. If I were to start over I would definitely use one though.

 

[ice4ice]

Not needed but is recommended. Or you can go the refugium route ...