Skimmer/Sump

[redsea]

Hi everyone! While I do not plan on setting up another saltwater tank soon, I had a few questions.

What is the smallest sized tank you can have without a sump?

What is the smallest sized tank you can have without a skimmer?

When I do set up a SW again, it will be a FOWLR.

 

[Ingy]

Last summer I started a 30 gal FOWLR that eventually had 1 Clarkii Clown, 2 YT Damsels and a BSWGoby. I had a HOB filter with media inserts and a small cheato ball growing under a CFL bulb. I did 5 gal WC weekly. Despite that my nitrates slowly climbed to between 40-80 ppm. That meant those 4 fish were producing 8-16 ppm nitrates weekly and I couldn't keep up.
In the fall I purchased a hob refugium skimmer combo and I was able to get my nitrates down to about 0.
My filter was a 40 gal rated filter with carbon and chemi-pure elite and a filter pad (changed weekly). Even with the additional small cheato it couldn't keep up with 4 med sized fish.
Personally I wouldn't have more than 1 or 2 fish with a filter only system unless your willing to do massive water changes weekly.

 

[dlsrks]

One of my tanks is a 29 gallon tank. I have a HOB skimmer and a Fluval 305 canister filter. It's a FOWLR and has 2 ocellaris clownfish and one firefish. It's still a constant struggle with red algae but nitrates usually stay under control with regular maintenance.