i wouldn't add any bio balls. live rock is good enough in the display.
as far as setting up the sump, what did you want to do with it? will you keep a refugium? i guess you'll need a hang-on skimmer, unless you can find something good, that has a small footprint.
looking at this design, i think you're not going to have much head loss with your return pump either, so you can go with a mag 2 or 3, or something equally sized.
i would use 1 or 2 of those large chambers to hold macroalgae, and put a little light over that area, get yourself a decent hang-on skimmer, and use a mag2 or 3 to push water through it.
you may need to place some netting or something at the bottom of the last baffle, before the return, to stop any stray macros from getting sucked into the pump.
i have used a sheet of stuff i got from walmart for this purpose. i found it in the crafts section- supposed to be for knitting or quilting or something. here's a pic-
just keep an eye on it. i have it on my overflows so fish don't go for a ride to the sump, and it hasn't clogged up in months, but you never know.
either that, or you could use the sponge filter that comes with the magdrive pump(this too, you should keep an eye on, and clean regularly)
i prefer the white knitting stuff, because the holes are big enough for pods to get through, but not macros.
those light fixtures that came with the setup aren't marine fixtures i don't think, but the bulbs appear to be VHO bulbs. you could get away with replacing those bulbs and using them for a while....i still believe 4 or 6 x 54 watt T-5's would be better, but those will work.
a little rust won't hurt their performance :wink:
