Depends what you want in the end... Like fencer said. SPS.. very picky coral.. its the neat freak of the coral world from what ive gathered.. my tank is too dirty for it to really take off. LPS softies like a bit of the messy stuff.. so it does well in my tank.. but this hobby and your tank are dictated by your budget... I have a limited budget, so I have no sump or anything.. check out my video link for a peek.. or you can have the infinte budget -
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1811725 -- that guy in that thread has no concept of a regular pay cheque to my understanding.. amazing to see how that thing has taken off...
But back to subject.. Do what you can with what you have. Skimmer wise, most of us run a skimmer id say, just seems to help out. With what you clean out of the collection cup (makes my stomach turn) Id say most of it I dont want in my water.