Jim,
I use powerheads with foam in the prefilters, no skimmer. Works great, but you've got to be diligent in cleaning the foams and doing water changes. To boost the effectiveness of the foams, I always clean the glass, then turkey baste my rock and corals the day before cleaning the foams. Clean glass first prevents the crud from the rock from sticking to the algae on the glass.
Foams are cleaned in several small batches of outgoing changewater to preserve bacteria. The first batch of cleaning water turns truly filthy, sort of like dilute skimmate
I know I'm finished cleaning the foams when the water is clear after squishing the living daylights out of the foams.
BTW, is your tank BB?