I would only run skimmerless on a well established system. Things are too topsy turvy in the beginning. My 75 was skimmerless for along time, almost 2 years. I had a DSB, and everything under the waterline was sand rock and macro packed as tightly as I could get it. DO NOT get anything that will eat your microfauna, ie mandarins, sand sifting stars, etc. The more pods, the better. CRABS A PLENTY. Let the crabs, pods, and snails do all of your dirty work. I didn't water change but once a year, and when I did I removed all the rock out of my superfuge. Then I stirred up all of the detritus and drained that thing. I am trying to emulate the same on the 200. Currently I am running a skimmer, but I hate overflows etc. Plus vacations are EASY once it's all balanced out. The key is the balance. Every now and then I would get cyano, but what tank doesn't. I think the real key to an insanely stable system is tons of rock and sand that have been established in your setup. If I was you and plan on doing it from the get-go, just add your fish very, very, very, slowly. I did everything wrong on that tank, and it was a great tank!