Different systems of reefing?

[Cymen]

So I know practically nothing but in my tank log thread, someone asked if I was doing an ultra low nutrient system a while back. I think because I bought a skimmer that was very oversized for my tank size. I bought a Reef Octopus 110INT and I have a 20g with a 10g sump. My thinking was I'd prefer to upgrade tank size once my living situation allows and every skimmer thread goes on about how the rated skimmer is just not quite enough (at least for the nano skimmers).

Anyway, in reading some other threads about non photosynthetic coral (not on this site), it looked like the preference there was more towards algae scrubbers over skimmers in order to avoid skimming out good things (pods, etc). That led me to wondering: are these different approaches present in the reefing community and are there more? I observed these:

* ultra low nutrient typically with a big ass skimmer and lots of dosing
* non photosynthetic with no skimmer, algae scrubber, refugium
* all in one with the minimalist hardware approach, fond of products in a sock to help fix issues

Of course, each group overlaps and borrows from the others. But are there more? Or am I just seeing patterns and it's an even spectrum?

 

[rygh]

There are endless "systems."
Some work, some don't.
To make it worse, the same system can work well for one tank, and terrible on another.

A fun example:
An over-sized skimmer should remove more nutrients .... right ???
Well .... not always.
In fact, it can end up removing FEWER, or even being almost totally ineffective.
The problem is the neck diameter.
Large skimmers usually have larger diameter necks.
But if you have a small tank, you don't have enough proteins in the water to get
a good head of foam.
When that happens, it basically does not work.

My suggestion:
Don't over-think it.
Keep it simple. Normal equipment, normal water changes.
And at first, keep the bio-load fairly low.