Sump Vs. Wet/Dry Sump

Not to beat a dead horse here but.....

I am cycling my tank and trying to make any changes before I start adding livestock. My tank thread is http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/new-55gal-build-104565.html


Right now I have a ProClear 75 Wet/Dry Sump with bio balls.
I am contemplating building a 20Long sump/refugium instead.

Here is my current setup


Here is the design i was thinking about.

 

I added a couple baffles between the skimmer and return pump to reduce bubbles.

 

Or this one. I moved the skimmer to the inlet so the benefits of the fuge will not be killed by the Skimmer

 

The last one is what you want. Your skimmer compartment needs to be big enough for your skimmer. Your return section only has to be as a wide as your return pump.... just understand that all your evaporation will be in your return section so the smaller the compartment, the less volume you will have before you have to top off. The fuge can be the rest.

 

I use a HOB skimmer so my inlet really only needs to be about 5" wide. I want the return section as big as possible to handle the evap.

I plan on having chaeto in the Fuge. The bigger issue is the question, would this really be better than my bio balls? Essentially, why is this proposed sump better for my tank than my current setup.

 

Yes it would be. Bio balls is one of those things that gets beat to death on a weekly basis. Just read back in a some posts a couple of weeks... or read the article in my sig.