Not having skimmer for FOWLR???

no, you dont HAVE to have a skimmer, even on a reef. the local reef store in my community uses zero skimmers on his thousands of gallons. do skimmers benefit? bigtime. just look at what they remove.

 

Not trying to speak on someone elses behalf, but Corailline on here runs a beautiful tank with no skimmer.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/my-2-5-year-old-jbj-28-gal-95347.html

I know its a reef tank but it shows it can be done. I also agree that the benefits of having one greatly outweigh the cost of getting even an eshopps and sticking it in the sump.