Question about refugiums

[youclowntoomuch]

As Im assembling my first ever sump and thinking of adding a refugium, something came to my mind. When hearing others talk about" seeding " the refugium with copepods or other small inverts a question pops into my head, what stops these creatures from getting turned into mist by the return pump impeller? What stops them from getting sucked into the skimmer ? Are there design elements you must follow with a sump if you want to keep these critters?

 

[Fish Fan]

As Im assembling my first ever sump and thinking of adding a refugium, something came to my mind. When hearing others talk about" seeding " the refugium with copepods or other small inverts a question pops into my head, what stops these creatures from getting turned into mist by the return pump impeller? What stops them from getting sucked into the skimmer ? Are there design elements you must follow with a sump if you want to keep these critters?

I think the answer is pure numbers of critters. Yes, some of your pods are going to get chewed up by the return pump, but many more will make the journey to your display tank just fine. If anyone has a better way of protecting pods from pump, please let me know :)