wow you guys are really hitting it hard. imo the two fluvals will work fine and the idea that you have about running them with only bio media and occasional carbon will accomplish the same task as a wet dry. I would also increase your lighting from only t-5 upward to m.h. and t5 or metal halide and another type of complimentary actinic type bulb this will help to not restrict the evolution of your tank.
as for other topics
-the refugium is by no means a must, just as the canuck said, but it is definately benificial and I would recommend at least 10% of tank size in a fuge more will not hurt.
- flooding will not occur as long as you have a sump area that will hold the volume of water that will drain out of the tank if you have a factory drilled tank it is between 5-10% of total water volume
-overflows are the mechanisms for which water is removed from your tank and put into your sump/fuge/wetdry or any other external holding source. you then pump water from those external holders back into your tank allowing you to again overflow your tank this creates the cycle for using the overflow system.
-auto fill or auto top off (ato) is used to replace evaporated freshwater into the saltwater system. ato's will make your life easier as far as adjusting equipment and maintaining proper salinity w/out much effort. (I personally prefer the non float type sensors either resistance or light measurement)
-good luck and look over skimmer stuff we can then continue on that topic when the time is right
as for other topics
-the refugium is by no means a must, just as the canuck said, but it is definately benificial and I would recommend at least 10% of tank size in a fuge more will not hurt.
- flooding will not occur as long as you have a sump area that will hold the volume of water that will drain out of the tank if you have a factory drilled tank it is between 5-10% of total water volume
-overflows are the mechanisms for which water is removed from your tank and put into your sump/fuge/wetdry or any other external holding source. you then pump water from those external holders back into your tank allowing you to again overflow your tank this creates the cycle for using the overflow system.
-auto fill or auto top off (ato) is used to replace evaporated freshwater into the saltwater system. ato's will make your life easier as far as adjusting equipment and maintaining proper salinity w/out much effort. (I personally prefer the non float type sensors either resistance or light measurement)
-good luck and look over skimmer stuff we can then continue on that topic when the time is right
