Skimmer or "natural" filtration

I just set my sump up and am wondering if I can just do tumbled chaeto, bio balls and live rock or do I need a protein skimmer? I'm thinking of getting one just for occasional use but it takes up a lot of space in there.

 

The skimmer is going to be much more efficient at removing nutrients than chaeto and live rock will be; over the long run you'll have problems without heavy, frequent water changes. Bio balls can be a problem when it comes to nutrients; they need to be cleaned frequently, or they start accumulating gunk and can actually add nitrates into your system.

Some people run with just an algae turf scrubber, but that's a slightly different story than chaeto growing in a fuge.

 

I would skip the bioballs and get a skimmer.

 

I'm new to the hobby, but had done a lot of research.
Before I actually bought my tank, I was leaning towards not skimming.

I gave in though, and bought a very well reviewed skimmer. I have to say, that my water quality has since improved 10 fold.

Go with a skimmer.

 

Skimming is a very natural way of filtration in marine tanks. Ever seen that nasty foam at the beach that waves bring in? There are all kinds of different brands out there that come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, if you look hard enough you'll find something with enough power to fit your application.

~Will.

 

A skimmer removes waste before it breaks down and removes dissolved waste. Cheato, bioballs, and LR do not do that. You want LR in the tank for denitrification...LR in the sump is a waste to me...You want cheato for what the live rock leaves behind and to suck up the rest of the nitrates and PO4.

 

jmo but i would ditch the bio balls and use that space for a skimmer. not having a skimmer in a sw tank is very risky... i tried with my first tank and scraped the who thing after about 5 months of buying different hob, canisters, ect... save your self time, money and advil and get a skimmer rated for your tank with room to spare/grow.

 

That makes sense. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of FL & have seen that foam a lot. I wasn't going to put live rock in-sump, that was going into the display tank with some live sand. I have several pieces of red coral I'm going to put in there so not a lot of room for live rock anyways, and I can put the chaeto in that first bioball chamber where it can tumble and thrive so that leaves my middle chamber for the skimmer I guess. illwill suggested the SWC 120 extreme cone which seems doable. Any other suggestions as to a skimmer that's footprint is under 10"x10" and can fit in a 26" cabinet? Thank you all!