Do I need a Protein Skimmer on a 29 gallon?

Ok, so I have a 29 gallon tank with fish and live rock. I don't have a protein skimmer...I wasn't sure if one was needed for such a small tank but my water conditions aren't so great and I'm still waiting for my cycle to complete. I'm a college student so something that would work well for my setup for not a lot of money wouldn't hurt

 

HI Josh
A skimmer would help with removing proteins.
The fact that your aquarium is still in the LR cycle is why your water conditions aren't so great.
Check your A,N, & N LEVELS
I would try doing a 20% water change once a week until your tank has settled

 

I did a water change of about 2.5 gallons about a week ago. LFS said to just let my tank sit for a few weeks without touching it so that it can cycle. I did a water test today. Ammonia, Nitrites were undetectable, pH was 8.2 and my Nitrates were high...20ppm...which means that my tank is on its last stage of the cycle. So a protein skimmer wouldn't help to keep good water conditions once the tank was done?

 

Yes a protein skimmer would help the quality of the water.
My thinking is that if something can remove junk out of your aquariums water, use it. your nitrates are a little on the high side, but should come down in the next day or so.
How are the fish doing?
How much LR is in the aquarium?
Which type of filter are you using?

Remember that good water = happy fish

 

My fish are doing quite well. I have one yellow tang, a yellow tailed damsel, and a chromis damsel along with two hermit crabs and a cleaner shrimp. I have 15lbs of LR and the standard filter that came with the aquarium kit. On Tuesday I have an Emperor 280 coming in so I will be changing that out.

 

Ok sound's like you may be light on your LR.. You should have 29lb of LR..
ie 1 lb per gallon.. You may find that your Ammonia will start to go up soon as the LR may not be able to cope. try to keep your fish numbers down until you can get some more LR. If your ammonia starts to rise, you will need to do more water changes to help your LR cope.
See how your levels go, if you start getting spikes you need more LR.
You could cure the LR in a tub with a heater and a powerhead before placing it in your Aquarium, this would prevent the tank going through another curing cycle.
I require 55lb of LR and paying AU$10 lb hurts..

 

I was hoping in the future after my tank has been set up for a while to put in a few corals. I know I can't do anything extravagant, but that's why I haven't added more LR because the corals come on a piece of it and my LFS said that if I bought corals and already had 30lbs of LR, then my tank would be too full. Does that really matter or what?

 

I see, sounds like you got a plan. just try to keep your fish stock low for now.
You may need to do some extra water changes if your ammonia starts to rise.

 

Yeah. We'll see what happens. I just set a QT up about a week ago. I didn't have one before and I was adding fish and I've lost a few. So I'm not going to add anymore until that has cycled. Right now, my Nitrites and Nitrates are so high it's not even funny. I'm going to see where my Nitrates stand at the end of this week in my display tank. Hopefully there won't be any. Do you have any suggestions on a protein skimmer?

 

Good to see you have a QT, I still need to get one.
As for the skimmer, I am still looking myself, some of the brands we have in Australia may not be in the US.
With your QT, You should use it when you get your coral, as it may go through a minI cure.

Have some photos of my Saltwater , 2 Pieces LR ( MORE TO COME ) 3X BASE ROCK

 

Your tank is beautiful. I love how it looks like a piece of furniture. I can't have anything like that in a dorm room. Most we're allowed to have is 30 gallons. I know a skimmer isn't necessary with 30 gallons as long as you stay on top of your water changes. But anything to make the water better is worth it.