Skimmer and Filter?

[ChiTownRomeo]

Hi I have a 50 gallon soon to be reef. I don't have a sump or overflow and have this film on top of the water. I am about to purchase this skimmer http://www.aquamaxxaquariums.com/AquaMaxx_HOB_Skimmers.html. I was wondering do I need a canister filter or HOB filter also or would live rock, live sand and this skimmer be enough? I also have a mp10 power head but wouldn't 2 hydor's be good since I can direct flow to the surface and the other over the rocks? I haven't hooked the Mp10 up yet so not sure how it works.

 

[Sniperhank]

The skim on the surface of the water can be removed just by pointing a powerhead at the surface, but the mp10 should be able to do the trick for that. They are pretty powerful little buggers from what I'm told.

I don't know much about the aquamaxx skimmers personally. You don't really want a canister on a reef. Reefs tend to use sumps with refugiums as there are less issues with nitrates building up in them, since canisters require weekly cleaning. You also shouldn't need a HOB filter. When I wanted to run carbon/gfo in my system I invested in a dual reactor from BRS. Much more effective to use it in this way.