There are a crap load of opinions on the use of the skimmer, and here's yet another one :-)
I don't think that a skimmer is absolutely necessary for your size of tank but it definitely would be beneficial. Skimmers were invented for a reason, they do what mother nature does with sea foam and that is remove dissolved organics. In the absence of this contraption that removes dissolved organics from the water you have to decide for yourself if you and your tank are OK with what's in your tank water in terms of nutrients. Some tanks will run fine with higher nutrients some don't. If you're not OK with the higher nutrients then you have to figure out a way to export them, either by way of more frequent or larger water changes or add a skimmer. A canister filter does not do the job of a skimmer. It will mechanically remove larger particles from your display tank but will not skim out the dissolved organics like a skimmer will.
As for the cyano issue, I had a cyano outbreak in my tank last week. In tracking down the problem I noticed that one of my powerheads was acting funny and would periodically stop working. I also noticed a lot of build up on the intake grills of my powerheads. Over the year I just got used to the flow so never really noticed that it got reduced considerably over time. I planned to clean up the powerheads as I normally do once a year but instead just bought new ones. Immediately I could tell that the flow from the older powerheads was indeed drastically reduced compared to the brand new powerheads. A week with the new powerheads and the cyano has mostly gone now. For me cyano ALWAYS creeps up in areas of lowest flow.
If that did not work I had a Plan B which also has worked for me in the past and that is to use Coral Snow. I recall reading somewhere that someone used it and it got rid of their cyano. I tried it myself last year and sure enough, it worked. Your mileage may vary of course.
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