Ecosystem Nano Reef

There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief...

I used to keep fish and I am interested in starting a 15-30 gallon or
so reef with the Ecosystem method. I hear so many conflicting opinions
about it that I am completely confused. I have a friend with a similar
skimmerless refugium setup and he has NEVER done a water change and
NOTHING has died. I have heard others say that a skimmer is essential,
and that Ecosystem and other refugia do not work well enough. My goals
are to set up a small reef with hardy species and have it as
low-maintenance as possible (less than 15 min/day if possible). I have
read that skimmers can remove organics that actually support the
microfauna populations that lead to a more "natural" food chain. I
have read other articles that a protein skimmer is essential if for
nothing else than helping "clean up" in the event of a death or other
small disaster. There are millions of opinions on what is the best
method for reef keeping, and I wanted to know what would be
recommended for a beginner (I majored in bio and I understand the bio
and chemical stuff but I never had a reef) who does not have thousands
of dollars to spend on a full sized reef.

-Joel