Sump/Skimmer Question

[Trigger Man]

A good protein skimmer is always a good idea, as it will remove a tonne of stuff from the water. When it really comes down to it you need to figure out how heavy of a load are you putting into the tank. I had a 50 G tank (stocking fish I no longer wanted in my main tank) with no sump or skimmer with a medium fish load, but I did water changes religously. A year and a half later everything got sick and died a couple of days later, so I always wondered if the same would have happened if I had put a sump and skimmer in. So if you have the money it is a good idea to get one I say.