sump design

since my cabinent dimensions arent suitable for anything over 10 gallons, i decided to make a sump and a refugium. the overflow connecting to the refugium then to the sump then back to the main tank...i made a picture(sizes are no accurate) but im not completely sure if it would work. i would be using 2 eshopps overflows, in sump protein skimmer and a mag 700gph pump. so any suggestion will be helpful.

 

if u can fit 2, 10 gallon tanks under it...why cant 1, 20 Gallon fit?... the set-up in the pic, would work, however it leaves room for failure with the extra overflow...

 

actually the skimmer should be first preferably, then the refugium, and then the return pump. I have mine set up as refugium -> skimmer -> return, because I have a pretty high fish load.

 

I would split the water from the DT between the fuge and sump. Use much less flow to the sump. I also suggest drilling the refugium to send the water to the sump.

 

I had the same idea as you

 

Typically, people setup sumps as skimmer > return < fuge, since the fuge shouldn't really be receiving skimmed water, and it's not great for pods to take a trip through the skimmer afterwords either. Also, the flow demands of a skimmer compartment and a refugium are very dissimilar, so this method lets you control the flow through each separately.