I want to install a sump and refuge in separate tanks

[turbo]

G'day,

I have a 55gal FOWLR in a home built stand. There's going to be 2 lines draining from my tank's overflow. Currently nothing is plumbed, I just have the overflow box started with 2x 1" PVC drains.

I want to setup a refugium and a sump for this system. I would like to use the refuge for pod growth, so I can keep a mandarin.

The idea is this:

Separate tanks for the sump and refuge. I have the sump tank (10 gal with baffles) already purchased. It would be nice to incorporate all-in-one but there's a few limitations that prevent this, most notably this would put 100% of my flow-rate thru the fuge.

I don't quite have room for 2 10 gal tanks side by side in the cabinet, so I think I have to settle for a 5 gal refuge.

So what do you think about this?? One drainpipe to a 5 gal refuge, which I can try to get drilled so it can overflow into the sump without a siphon. The second drainpipe straight to the sump. I have yet to purchase a skimmer, but I'd put it in the middle section of the sump, then there's three baffles before the return pump chamber.


Questions:

1. Is 5 gal doable for pod production to sustain one mandarin?
2. Can I incorporate a deep sand bed or mangrove into the fuge as well?
3. In your experience, will the protein skimmer kill all of my pods? Is it okay to have it downstream of the refuge?
4. Is it ok to overflow directly to the refugium as long as it's only 50% of the total flow of the system? I can always slow this down even more with a ball valve on the drain.