55 Gal FOWLR - seeking criticism

[turbo]

ah that makes much more sense. lol!

i have also been experiencing some doubt that the flow rate is slow enough through the refuge. I guess I could direct both drains to the skimmer chamber and either use a small pump like you said, or possibly tee off one of the drains into the refuge.

i suppose it's best to use freshly skimmed water for the refuge, but i also want to use fewer pumps. i'd hate to see a siphon form from the refuge to the skimmer chamber, because if you combine that with back flow from the tank, they could add up to a flood. the refuge and pre-fuge chamber carry more volume than the skimmer and return pump chamber.