Protein skimmer opinions

IMO you want a skimmer. Live rock is definitely the best type of filtration to have, but a skimmer is almost a necessity as well. Frequent water changes will make a big difference no matter what type of filtration you have/don't have, but they can get tedious and expensive if you have to do them too often.

With that said, the nano skimmers don't always work the best. I have the skimmer for my Biocube 14 and it seems semi-worthless.

 

On a small tank I think you could compensate more easily with water changes, but I also think it is very unlikely that you could skim enough to strip the water of all its nutrients. Even with a good skimmer most folks also employ some other method to keep organics in control like chaeto, mangroves, turf scrubbers and water changes and we still have to use our mag floats.

 

I liked CPRs SR3, which goes in the middle chamber. It always pulled a lot of gunk out for me. I also tried Tunze's 9002 skimmer and hated it. Good idea but a little too compact. It's hard to explain how it is built without seeing it, but it basically kept falling apart for me. Great in terms of size, if it would stay together after cleaning. IMO if you are keeping any fish, get a skimmer. If not, perhaps it's not so crucial.