Skimmer and a filter?

I plan on setting up a 40-50 gal reef tank. Do I need need a skimmer and a filter? or will just a skimmer work?

 

just a skimmer will work fine but you might want to consider a refugium

 

Skimmer as well as biological filtration will be your key filtration elements. Read, read, read as their is much more to the equation of maintaining a successful reef biotope. I can't stress this enough, that their are so many parts to establishing a maintaining a successful aquarium. Lighting, salinity, alkalinity, water flow and filtration are just skimming the surface of what has to be managed and dilligently maintained to have success!
Your best bet is to read and ask questions!
Good luck!

 

I have run a 75g and a 90g with a skimmer and filter socks. I am not a big fan of the canister and HOB filters because they, to me, are just a nitrate factory waiting to happen. My filter socks are the same way.....but I change them out twice weekly to prevent that. You could easily get away with just a skimmer. Take a look at the Coralife Superskimmer. If you want to spend a little more money on a better product (IMO), then look at the AquaC Remora and the Octopus BH-100F. If you want to spend even more money (we are going to overkill now), look at the Deltec MC500 or the MCE600. Out of all of them I like the Remora and Octopus the best (Best bang for the buck). And you are looking for a little overkill in skimming. For yours, I would get a skimmer that would do around 100 to 125g lightly stocked.

If you decide to run a sump/fuge, you can put all this hardware there. But that is a whole different thread.