most people i have talked to are using carbon,the pellets and a skimmer.that is the setup i have.i put it on a new tank i have setup about a month ago.i have not had to clean the glass at all.no nitrate or phos.i have a very small bioload so im shure that helps.i even started feeding more than normal and still no algae.even on the frag rack and frag plugs.everything is looking great and growing well.