I have a skimmer, it's rated for a little more then my total water volume. My sump is three chambers, I have it set up where the drain and skimmer are in the first section, the chaeto is in the middle, and my return pump and ATO are in the last section. I keep a power head in all 3 to make sure no detritus settles. I use a larger powerhead at an angle to tumble my chaeto. I had a spare 2 bulb 24 inch T5 fixture laying around so I am using that with great success.