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No to both. Please do your research. The role of a skimmer is not to make water clear. Completing the Initial Set-up http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/newbie/index.php Reef aquarium filtration http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/dw/index.php And lastly, everything you need to know http://www.reefcorner.com/reef%20keeping_101.htm Help us help you. Otherwise, there's no point in starting this hobby and always end up with fish dying, corals dying and going out to purchase new fishes and corals every week.

i used to have a 2ft nano and spent less than $400 in total. No skimmer and just relying on a filter cannister.... and a fan... but u may have to top up water everyday...due to evaporation... For LPS n softies..so long your temp dun exceed 30 can already.... this is my 2ft nano last time....but u have to make up for it by doing regular water change...i change every 3 days...n i managed to sustain for almost 3 yrs b4 i upgrade... u can start off with maxspect 60W LED with 2 tubes of T5 to complement. And a hang-on back skimmer MCE300 and a simple 2ft tank...there's one tank maker beside Golden Octopus (beta spell out for u)..about 10metres away...u can enquire there...they can help u make a IOS behind the tank or beside...to place your skimmer....

if u put in the study room...the "noise" will be more obvious due to confine area... Secondly, there will always noise from chiller not to mention the heat as well coming from the chiller...If u want to minimise the noise n heat from chiller, then your room have to be well-ventilated in the day and probably, u need to switch on the air-con in the day. Thirdly, there will be humming sound from skimmer for sure...due to pump.... Most of these noise can be reduced dramatically, if one's tank is custom-built with cabinet and sump. For small RSM tanks...i'm afraid minimal noise and a well-built marine system, are not the top priorities from the manufacturer but rather a simple plug-and-start system that is sustainable in the short-run for newbies and nano reefers who just want to keep simple fishes like clowns and some soft corals, is the main priority.

Hey hi Aloysius Yeah I have been seeing you online for quite a few days on the various threads. Kudos for taking time to research and ask! Your post is so long that I do not know where to begin.... lol... I will skip all those that Lemon has covered and the same discussion that we have been posting on kksg2000 thread. Will pen some points for you to ponder. Tank build: Good decision on skipping the acrylic... definitely will be scratched. For your tank size, you might want to consider building something like Tench1's. http://www.sgreefclu...showtopic=85597 IOS .. but remember to get the tank maker to make an overflow instead of an underflow. One point to note is that it is very difficult to scape with 1.25ft width. Would suggest you go for 1.5 feet width if possible. 2.5 inch might not sound a lot but in terms of scaping a nano, it really is quite substantial. Sump: Personally I dislike sump but would still advises beginners to get a tank with sump. But I think you must have your reasons for going sumpless. How much LR & LS: My tank uses about 7 kg of LR. I reckon yours will be around 7 - 10kg depending what scape and how much corals you wanna house. You will need to make more effort to search for narrow rocks as your tank has only 1.25ft width. The problem with scaping this sort of narrow tank is that usually they end up looking like book shelves if you do not get the right rocks. As to how much LS, really cannot answer you cause it depends what is the eqpt, media that you will be using, what fishes you intend to get, how your rockwork scaped. Tunze Reefpack 200: I have used this for about 3 months for my nano tank which has a smaller water volume than yours. Sad to say, this is not a worthwhile investment. REason: 1) The mechanical module is extremely sensitive to water level. Once if the water level drops by 1 cm, the surface skimming will not work. If you top up with too much water, the water does not trickle down the medias in this module and the surface skimming does not work too. 2) The mechanical module does not have a drainer plate in the module. That means water from the surface will flow into the module and gets in very minimum contact with the media below. Even if you place a good amount of cotton inside the module, only a small part of the cotton is doing the dirt trapping work. Likewise there is very little contact with any carbon that is placed inside. 3) The skimmer is not effective. you need to strip it and clean in quite often especially if you feed some oyster food/ reef booster or uses epoxy in your tank. I know there are raving reviews of this skimmer on the internet (I read all of them too more than once before buying ), but pls don't take their word for it. Qiang, Raydiative, Poomoon - they have all used / are using this skimmer. You can do a check with them on the performance. 4) Microbubbles issue - I encountered quite bad micro bubbles issue. Some of them are using the skimmer in IOS so they might not see it as obvious. I would put my 2 hands up and admit I really make a mistake in purchasing this RP200. Would strongly consider you to get a IOS tank which can take care of your filtration and perhaps invest on a better skimmer like deltec MCE 300 or MCE 600. LED lights MaxSpect - cheap and good. most of the other LED lightsets cost about 2 times more. You will need the 110W version. Can look out for 2nd hand too. Wavemaker Tunze is very very reliable. Else can go for Koralia. actually so many brand to choose from. Just avoid high wattage ones as they introduce more heat to the water. Corals & Fishes Lemon covered liao Henry's Gourmet I love it. But do note that feeding with frozen also causes your water to deteriorate more and your nitrate to shoot up more. you need a good skimmer and very frequent WC. Coral RX... not Coral FX ... lol a must for every reefer! PO4 Remover Think its a liquid that you pour them into the tank. not into your skimmer Check with Henry before you use it. Grotech You are referring to Grotech ABC? Those are for SPS. You do not need them for the corals you stated above. There are other coral food suitable. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, oysterfeast, rotifiers, 5-in-1 coral food, reef booster.. then there are also other additives available... amino acid, vitamin C, garlic drop, strontium, iodine, trace elements.. Ca/ Mg you will need to maintain KH, Ca and Mg levels. OK bro... you owe me a cup of coffee if we ever get a chance to meet up... spent more than 30 mins drafting this.... lol..... BTW. we are organizing a workshop for beginners. Pls feel free to join us if you are keen. http://www.sgreefclu...=0&#entry915170 rgds Jacky