Need Skimmer Recommendations

[first-chevalier]

I need some advice/direction for my tank. First, the setup...

I have a 10g DT with a 5.5g refugium holding a total of about 12-13g of 1.023 water. All tested parameters are stable (Amonia-0, Nitrite/Nitrate-0, PH 8.0-8.2). Temp 79-80. The system is setup with a box overflow in the upper left corner down to the sump/refugium where I have a three inch sand bed, bubble wall leading to a mag 3 return pump. The lighting consists of two GE 6500k 26w CF and two Coral life 50/50 10,000k/actinic 20w CF bulbs. I top off with about three to five pints of water a day or every other as needed with a 15-25% water change every Sunday.

Currently the tank has about 13 lbs of live rock, a firefish and six line wrasse as fish plus a fire shrimp and small serpeant star. The clean up crew is five astrea snails, a small queen conch, five blue leg hermits, two red leg hermits, and two cowre snails.

Corals consist of a small colony of green star polyps that are spreading well, pom pom xenia that have gone for three heads to nine, branching hammer that has at least two buds I can see, two mushrooms (one red with blue strips and one brown), a Goneapora, a brown plate coral, and some aptasia.

My problem is that I can't seem to get the water crystal clear ever and I'm wonder if a skimmer would help? I don't currently have any type of sock, sponge, or other filtration material in the loop as I'd like to allow the pods as much freedom as possible.

I have no idea if A) A skimmer is the answer or even appropriate for a tank of this size, or B) If it is what brand, size, etc to get.

Any and all comments are welcome and if you'd like to view the build thread for the tank (with pics) it can be found here. Thanks for your help.

our tank: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1023218