Congrats on your new saltwater tank Jen! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun keeping your first salt tank.

I have to agree with Aleesha that a protein skimmer wouldn't be necessary for a tank as "small" as a 30 gallon as long as you are willing to do a weekly water change of at least 10-20% of the total volume.

I've personally kept a 20 gallon reef that way, using only a HOB filter and liverock for filtration, making sure to change out 4-5 gallons weekly and change carbon at least monthly. Another thing I can recommend to you is try to create as much flow/circulation in the tank as you can....meaning you'll want at least 10x turnover rate (300gph)...but generally more is always better, it'll keep particulates in suspension in order for your filter to remove them...and keep unsightly algaes from settling on the rockwork (eliminate dead flow areas).

I would have to say I'd use at least 50% of the established tank water, and mix 50% new saltwater to same SG, pH, and temperature with Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized water (most tap/well water contains phosphates and nitrates that will just aid to algae growth.) Yes a skimmer would help to polish the water especially if you're generous with feeding, lazy with water changes, or keep a mixed reef with a mixture of soft corals and hard corals that will compete for space with chemical "warfare"... etc...but definitely not a necessity. With any tank, any filtration setups, the key to success is always going to be water changes!

Another thing to think about to help eliminate nuisance algaes/free flowing parasites would be a UV sterilizer run inline with a canister or other sort of pump.

If you have any questions what-so-ever feel free to PM me and ask away...just remember there are a million ways to "correctly" keep a saltwater tank so take all advice is stride, the previous advice is just what has worked for me the last 2.5 years.

Just remember to have fun! You've already got the major expenses done with.



-Jason