[Troy F]

I have the occasional live 'pod and or worm in my skimmer cup and that has gone through an impeller and a becket. I wouldn't worry too much about the pump killing stuff on the way back to the tank. I have a friend who had a small fish go through his Mag24 without harm.

I had one 40W fluorescent over a 55gal tub and it was the most corraline encrusted rock I've seen. Most of it bleached under MH but it looked good at first.

I have a skimmer plumbed externally from the sump and other than the space it requires, there's no real downside.

I think with the baffles it really depends on how much flow and the skimmer return will be a big concern as well. With a little over a thousand gallons going through my sump + the skimmer return I know I couldn't do it without baffles.