I used the aquafuge until i had a problem when a snail clogged the outlet of fuge and cause a huge overflow. Not only that i am still in the process of getting my tank together, so one of my surge protectors was laying on the ground, water got all in it and caught fire. As for surface skimming probably the most effective way would be to get a skimmer with a pre-skimmer box, or do weekly water changes with the pre-skimmer box on the fuge as it would just put all the surface nastiness back into the water. Also are you running carbon 24/7? Have you looked into buying a skimmer? In my opinion on a reef tank a skimmer is must have.

Happy Reefing,

Chris