[karimwassef]

Unions are your friend. They're expensive, but they can make a complex reef into a system of LEGO-like blocks. Flexibility and ease is key. In case of crisis, they're always there when you need them. They got your back in the middle of the night when nothing else works. It's a true friend that waits patiently and responds immediately when you call on them.
((Tearing up here with emotion))... No, seriously - use them.

I understand the sponge loop. I use my chaeto and cryptic zones to create a flow of life. There's always some flow through my cryptic zone, but it's ~1/10th my main flow that's about 4000gph... so maybe 400gph? That's a guesstimate since I can't really measure it.

The featherdusters are parasitic... they grow everywhere. The coralline prefers darker environments. It grows far from my halides. The cryptic zone only gets the faintest light refracted though the acrylic front. I think that there are difference species of coralline... I haven't found the one that likes direct intense light.

Interesting concept of an algae-dominant microbiome... Need to think and read up on that.