Remodel sump/refugium?

[JennyLynn9579]

Ok so I've been toying with the idea of taking my fuge/sump out, breaking it down and remodeling it. It's 20 gallons for a 40 gallon tank. Right now it flows as follows:
Overflow from tank>> 1st chamber : refugium with fluorescent light, Chaeto, couple small chunks of live rock, some stray substrate>> 2 sheets of acrylic (baffles?) to trap microbubbles>> skimmer chamber with a couple more hunks of LR,>> then chamber for return pump. From everything I've been reading from you guys, this seems backward. Plus it isn't "pretty" like I want. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting livestock down there (snails,crabs,pods etc). I don't want the good stuff skimmed away. Does anybody have ideas? I tried to attach a pic of my current setup for visualization. Any help is appreciated!!!!

 

[David S]

your skimmer needs to be in the first section,then the chaeto and lr,then the return pump.Also I wouldn't put anything in the sump(snails or crabs(unless they are just hitchhikers))apart from pods,the sump and fuge is also there to let algae grow so it doesn't grow in your tank,It's not supposed to be pretty just your tank.

 

[mdaniel2882]

There are two schools of thought on the placement of the refuge and skimmer. One puts the fuge first so it has the first chance at 100% of the nutrients in the water the other is just the opposite. I personally don't think it really matters.
If you are going to put anything i.e. snails in your fuge make sure they can't escape to your skimmer or return section and get caught in the impellers. Teeth on the baffles are not enough. I pick nas. snails out of my filter sock every time I do a water change.
As far as the looks of the fuge, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just remember it is a filtration device not a display.

The most important thing is to make sure your skimmer section is a constant volume area. If the height of the water is allowed to change then your skimmer will not preform properly.

 

[JennyLynn9579]

Thanks guys for the advice, I'd pretty much had my mind made up to do it, now I just need to set aside the time... Id been wanting to dismantle the skimmer and clean it really well anyways, sounds like a weekend project to me.