Basic tank fish

[40B Knasty]

I probably will not get a skimmer right away only if I need more filtration later I keep only 5 fish in my 90 gallon freshwater tank but they are larger cichlids. I intend to keep maybe 3 or 4 fish in this tank so a skimmer might not even be necessary.

Also do I have to completely thaw out frozen food before feeding asking for my frwahwater tank but it should apply to my saltwater one.

I am going to suggest to not compare what you do with a freshwater to a saltwater tank. I have a fresh, brackish, and saltwater tank. The levels of effort are mindless after cycling for freshwater. Watch salinity, because of evaporation and the window is between 1.008-1.010. For saltwater there is a whole slew of things. There is pH, ALK, TDS, phosphates, flow, Salinity(which shouldn't be as bad doing FOWLR), the knowledge of where and how the fish sleep so they have a good night's rest and not be stressed out(meaning create a aquascape that works best for each fish), what "kinds" of food they require in their daily diet, the size of the food to fit in each individual fishes mouth, vitamins, and parasites. Whether it be worms, ich, velvet, brook etc..
So we can't say yes or no to the frozens needing to be thawed out. You might by LRS Chunky and you will need to chop that up and thaw it out. I recommend the LRS Herbivore. If want to get a tang or angel. Mega Marine by Hikari also. Then there is brine w/ spirulina or mysis from Hikari. San Francisco Bay mini blood worms. You don't need to strain your foods for phosphates.

 

[Shooter6]

Get a hob skimmer the psk90 will do you well.

 

[MSB123]

+1
A skimmer is a great thing to get!

 

[Paul B]

If you are using live rock (as you should) almost any fish will live in such a tank. Fish don't need hardly any light (but they do need some) and fish don't need corals. The HOB filter can be used for circulation if that is what you have. I wouldn't put any filter media in it though, just rocks if you like. Most smaller fish want to pick off the live rock all day.
A skimmer is helpful, but not a necessity. Fish don't really care much about your parameters, for many years my nitrates were about 160 and all the paired fish were spawning and only dying of old age.
Tanks don't need to be expensive or complicated, we make them that way.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Clearly one thing “fun”about this hobby is that the sky-is-the-limit when it comes to how elaborate ($$) one wants to get with their tank, but it is refreshing for people to discuss a “basic” saltwater tank as well—because in the end this does not have to be like raising polo ponies (“the sport of Kings”). I think to keep things in perspective—again, the word “basic”—the best piece of advice I ever came across in all my reading was along these lines: “Remember: You are not managing FISH, you are managing WATER.” So to that I would add, if you are on a ‘basic budget,’ put your money into what keeps your water happy, and your fish will be happy. Getting rid of ammonia does not require lots of expensive bells and whistles; although you might want to treat yourself to a plus-sized protein skimmer. Just my thoughts