Sump plumbing and design question

[Saratj1]

I am thinking about the design of my 55g sump for a 135g reef tank. My overflow has 2 1" drains. I am wondering if I can use one of those drains can empty into the skimmer portion of my sump and the other drain empty into the refugium via an algae turf scrubber. Would this cause any foreseeable issues? Thanks for any input.

 

[scottayy]

Well that's unique. I don't see any problem with it. A lot of people feed their refugium separately anyways. I would go the more traditional way of having both empty into the skimmer section and then pumping up into the algae scrubber. I guess this way could save you a pump.

 

[Sniperhank]

I tried being fancy with my plumbing. It failed. Having a pump to feed a scrubber or reactor is much easier. Then you can also adjust the flow as needed much easier.

 

[uh.oh...]

There would be a differential in the water level between the sections, so I'd also add ball valves. I sort of imagine your return pump in the center of the tank, but there could be other ways of doing it

 

[Racnakd]

My 40g sump is set up with the return in the middle, refugium on one side and skimmer/ heater section on the other. I have one overflow with 2 drain tubes going to the skimmer section. One of the drains is T'd off and goes to the refugium. I have a ball valve to control the amount of flow the refugium receives. I have attached a photo of my setup. It was in the early stages so the picture does not show what it is now. Plumbing is cleaned up and wires all cleaned with a different light over the refugium. It is the same general setup. The other drain also has a T and is setup to run a reactor.