I am building a 97 gallon mixed reef. It is bottom drilled one 1 1/2" drain with maggie muffler, one 1" emergency drain and one 1" return. the return will come out of the overflow box and via a t and plumbing on top of the tank will have 5 nozzles 2 on each side an one in the center. This will be hidden as this is a in cabinetry build. So I have a few questions. I want to keep this simple and energy efficient. So I am going with a single return pump with a manifold. The manifold will provide water to 3 reactors. And possibly the refugium. My skimmer is rated for to 264 gallons. My head height is minimal. Does the extra return nozzles and manifold have an effect on the pumps gph? I am looking into the waveline dc 6000 and the waveline dc 12000 they are controllable and the price difference is minimal. Is the dc12000 over kill for my application? I went overkill on the skimmer so I could run a larger return pump. Was my thinking wrong? I am leaning toward the dc12000 since it is controllable i can always dial it back. Also What are your thoughts on refugium water supply. My sump is left to right drain bubble trap, return, refugium. I want to provide water to the fuge via gate valve off the manifold. Is this a good idea? or should the fuge get water from the drain via gate valve? I like the idea of the fuge getting skimmed water. So I am leaning toward fuge getting water from my return line. Thoughts pleas. What works for you? Thanks


