DIY wet/dry convert refugium sump

[dirtride858]

THis is my wet/dry sump I just changed to work as a refug using the same wet/dry parts it already had plus a on/off valve and pvc as a flow regulator/skip dump.

two pics, two different setups, one setup gives me more more live rock space but limits the footprint space for a skimmer.

Other setup has normal room for skimmer but much smaller compartment for live rock section.

Any thoughts or ideas would be cool.

[Gorgok]

With a skimmer in the return section the water level can change, and that may affect the skimmer performance. An ATO of course will help, if not eliminate the issue depending on how it is setup.

[dirtride858]

That would be plan-b setup with skimmer in return, I don't like that setup since its a small space for skimmer also. The other setup with the skimmer in the first section is what I'm going to run with. That setup will still have a compartment between the middle and return to hold a handfull of baseball sized lr. My tank will have 150lbs of lr so I really only want enough lr in the sump to help out the pods and such.

I'm still unsure about the media I will run in the middle, leaning towards mud and 4" sand with cheato ball spinning.