Need advice with this sump photo

[Broonsa]

Hi
have purchased a Red sea 425xl.
since the sump has 1 chamber I bought a baffle in order to support a refugium
i think the way its designed With darkened first chamber, Is refugium after socks Then skimmer in rear
my question is if I intend to have pods. is it wrong to Put refugium first then skimmer after it. ie will skimmer kill pods
could I reverse It and put refugium in rear chamber
thanks

 

[andrewey]

In theory I like to put my refugium after the skimmer for the reason you mentioned (plus the slow flow through a refugium helps to dissipate any bubbles that may have made it through the skimmer), however, once your refugium is up and cranking, the pod population shouldn't be hurt too much by the skimmer.

 

[Tastee]

I have the 525XL and believe the sump is pretty much the same. The first chamber’s level is fixed whereas the second chamber’s level is adjustable to suit your skimmer. As long as you can raise your skimmer to suit the water height in the first chamber then there is no reason you can’t swap the usage. The first chamber‘s water level is fairly high so you may have issues raising your skimmer sufficiently high however.