How do I know I absolutely need a skimmer?

[Reincarnate]

With so many absolutely beautiful nano tanks out there that don't use a skimmer there's really no reason why a much larger tank can't look the same IMO. Like you mentioned above though some people just have a hard time getting off the couch to do much of anything these days. That LARS does in fact exist. Keeping a happy healthy reef tank for years on end just doesn't have to be so complicated sometimes.

 

[newbie2014]

I switched from freshwater tank for a little more than a year ago, so I'm was very skeptical of what a skimmer could do. Just a contraption with a pump making tiny bubbles, right. But after seeing the black liquid with sewage-like smell that my Aquamaxx HOB-1 collects, I'm a believer.