Protein Skimmer Necessary?

[ak]

I have a 30 gallon with an emperor 400, live rock, and a live sand bed, Im thinking of putting some coral in. I dont have a skimmer though. Does anyone know if I can get away without it? Thanks for your help.

 

[fishswim]

I think it would be nice to get a hang on, and just run it pariodicly. The emerors are great, but I think if you ran the skimmer it would help a lot.

 

[ak]

which one would you recommend?

 

[fishswim]

I have a prizm. I like it a lot. It's easy and relatively small. It is a hang on skimmer, so it won't take up any room inside your tank, or floor and cabinet space. It would be great for a 30 gal, but can be used up to 90 gal.

 

[andymi]

A skimmer is typically not needed in a reef tank if you have enough live rock , live sand and critters to do some cleaning. Quite often over skimming will cause bigger problems than not using a skimmer. I would think that with your emperor and live rock and sand you should be all set. I run a reef tank without a skimmer and I have never had problems and I even have few fish. I also have seen tanks with some of the most beautiful specimens ever in tanks that go skimmerless. This is really a debate of the ages, but whatever you do, dont overskim.
--andy