Somes noobs questions, skimmer and tank size

[JN Turcotte]

Hi all,

First to present myself,

Young, I have kept many fresh water aquariums of small size.
The latest and biggest was a 33gallons of Cichlids.

I am now grown up. I have an engineer degree in industrial automation.

I am also an animal lover and I have been keeping and breeding snakes for the last 5 years. Right now, I have over 50 pythons.

Few months ago, I received a 14 gallons Fluvial Chi from my girlfriend and I started to be really interested again in the fishes. This time, I would like to build a Saltwater aquarium when I buy our new house.

I researched a lot and read a lot of things theses past weeks. I know how to plumb, bean farm overflow, how to cycle, refugium, etc...

One thing that I CAN'T find and understand are the skimmer.

1 - What make a skimmer good or bad ?
2 - What should I search for when buying a skimmer ? (other than as big as my budget)
3 - What make a skimmer, a good skimmer ?
4 - Is there place I can review skimmer, select some brands ? or depends on tank size ?
5 - Where should I look to buy one ? online ? local salt water store ? used ? ebay ?


Last, I have read mixed stuff on this. Should I start with a smaller tank size, let's say 50 to 90 gallons or should I go BIG right away ?

Ideally, I would like something that is 72'' long, that's bringing me to a 200+ gallons, probably quite expensive if I ever make a mistake.



Thank you all, and hopefully I will be able to share my knowledge in a few years