New Fish only setup? - Should I get these things?

[AL210]

I have been doing fresh tanks for 20 years. I have now decided to do my 1st salt tank. I have been reading and watching a lot of reefers on Youtube. Its been information overload.

I purchased a tank. I always wanted to do a cylinder. Its 103 Gal with a 20gal sump setup from Pro Clear Aquatics. 29"wide x 35" high cylinder.

I thinking to just start out with a fish only tank. Maybe add corals later. I'm either going to do a coral insert or aquascape with dry rock for possibly adding corals later down the road.

My main questions are.

1. Should I start out with a protein skimmer and if how over sized should it be for my tank size?

2. Should a start a refugium at this time or not.

I appreciate any suggestions you would have.

Thanks in advanced. I have much to learn

 

[PatW]

Any marine aquarium will benefit for having a mechanism for nutrient export.

The easiest method is just brute force water changes. On larger systems, that can get a bit challenging. For water changes, it is really handy to have your own RODI system and a container for mixing and storing salt water and of course a container for storing RODI water.

Also, having an auto top off system for your tank is an almost must have. Auto top offs maintain the salinity in a tight range and marine creatures LOVE stability.

Since you are thinking of having corals, having a sump would be really nice.

The sump helps with three types of nutrient export.

The first is filter socks. They remove detritus before it breaks down but to work, they have to be cleaned about twice a week. The added benefit is cleaner water. Be warned, they are not a major export.

if you want a skimmer, the sump is really nice to have. Protein skimmers remove complex molecules before they break down and are decent exports. Generally the published capacity of a skimmer is for a light feeding load for a tank. Bulk Reef Supply gives their opinion of the capacity of the skimmers they sell so you can get an idea from what they say. I would say that you want a skimmer whose capacity is 50 to 100 percent larger than your system. Another nice thing about a skimmer is many contaminating chemicals will get skimmed out really fast. If you have a bit of soap on your hands and get it in the tank, the skimmer will get rid of it.

Another source of nutrient export is a refugium with macro algae under a bright light. The algae grows and removes phosphates and nitrates. When the algae fills up the refugium, you dump it. This is a really efficient way of removing nutrients but it is more involved.