A sump by any other design ......................

A carbon pad and a prefilter pad just thrown into the overflow ???

below the elbow for the drain tube?

I was even going to go as far as occasionally running a canister filter with carbon or a micron filter to help polish. Lets say once every 3-4 weeks for 24-48 hours.

 

No filter pads, no carbon, the only sponges I have in there are living pineapple sponges. I have a couple small pieces of live rock in my refugium.

Also the chamber on the far right is that going to be your refugium? The water supply is coming off that ball valve I assume. Have you tried it to see how much water flow you are getting through there? It might be a good idea to add a ball valve on the skimmer side in case you find you aren't getting enough flow to the refugium.

You can do that if you want to, but you may find that it is not necessary if you have a good biological filter. A way to run carbon is a good idea in case you run some medication you can run carbon afterwards to clean it out. Mechanical filters only remove debris that could have been eaten by some corals, feather dusters, sponges, etc.

 

YEs...refugium on the right. The flow is good. Not to fast, but definitely not to slow. should work out well....

Could i possible see some pics of these examples you guys explain to me? Im curious how they fit in the sump!