Sump with separate refugium... or not?

[dragoneggs]

Okay I have been researching sump/filter designs in preparation for my fish room. I am also looking forward to PSAS Jan meeting with the presentation on fish room design!

My question is... what are the pro's and con's of an integrated refugium located within the sump or a separate stand alone design? I am designing my fish room that will be in the basement for 200gal display located in the living room.

 

[Chichas01]

You can probably get a bigger sump volume and bigger fuge volume by separating the 2 which means more water volume over all and bigger benefits. All depends on your available space though. Since you will have a dedicated room, I say go as big as you can. Nothing wrong with a fuge as big as your display volume if you have that option.
I separated mine and was able to get a good 6-8 gallons of water more in each section.

 

[Steve B]

the bigger the better

good luck