You don't need any reactors (phosphate or calcium) imo if you stick to fish only and no corals. You can skimp on light and get a cheap one. If your lights aren't hot then evaporation will be relatively low so an auto-top off isn't needed either (even if it would make life easier).
In a FOWLR, people like to put a lot of fish, so waste build up can be a problem. This is where a good skimmer is useful. Not absolutely necessary but nice to have no less. Keep an eye on nitrate too because this can go up fast. Some people like to use a mechanical filter to complement their skimmer but i just stuck to the latter. You can also use carbon too if you want. I do.
I like the look of just fish, LR and sand. the lr and sand is all the bio filtration you need. Sump helps, but I don't have one and many don't. Most beginners use tap water but this can lead to algae blooms. I think that if you have a few organisms to control algae then it would be okay.
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