I really didn't understand your idea until you drew it. Now that I see it, I really dislike this idea a lot (sorry).
1) IF....IF..you got the water level to where you describe and you were drawing from the surface...there is a great liklihood that you will suck air into the primary drain which defeats much/all of the Herbie's benefits.
2) It is VERY likely that you will suck all kinds of things directly into the primary drain. If you put a screen over the drain, you'll have to deal with the screen plugging up and the changes in flow that will create as the screen plugs.
3) If you shortened the primary standpipe, you could solve the problem mentioned in #1, but now you have a submerged pipe with great suction...that can only be trouble for inhabitants. With no surface skimming, you are going to get scum formation the surface, almost regardless of how much your circulation is in the tank.
Nope...I do not think this is a good idea at all.
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400 gal reef. Established April, 2007. 3 Sequence Dart, RM12-4 skimmer, 2 x OM4Ways, Yellow Tang, Maroon Clown (pair), Blonde Naso Tang, Vlamingi Tang, Foxface Rabbit, Unicorn Tang, 2 Pakistani Butterflies and a few coral gobies
My Tank: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28436
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