Converting my Wet/dry into a refugium help

[rcdude1990]

Hey guys, after much research and experience in this hobby i think its time i made the step of converting my wet/dry into a refugeium.
i currently am running a 125gallon tank and my wet/dry looks very similiar to a proclear 150 series. i dont know the exact number of my proclear but it looks like this

for 5 years ive been running this wet/dry with my system and i think its time for a little change lol
ive gone on youtube and looked up some videos on what is required for a refugium and such so i kinda have an idea on what needs to be there
first off would you say that it is possible to convert this wet/dry into a refugium? i would say the whole center part where that bio balls and filter pad is would be were the actually refugium would be. i would include a baffle where the blue pad is to reduce bio balls and make sure no sand goes into the return pump.
any suggestions? im going to draw up a diagram to give an idea on what im thinking
second question is what should be the process, i know for a fact its not a quick 1,2,3 switch lol, i heard take the bio balls out VERY SLOWLY!! lol like 1 bio ball every 3 days til there all gone.... what exactly happens when all bio balls are gone? during this process are there going to be a lot of changes to my display? a lot algea, ditrus, ect?
any input would be really great
also i am definitly looking to add a different protein skimmer (any help on that and how its plumbed would be great) possibly a uv steralizer and im researching on reactors.
thanks in advanced

 

[rcdude1990]

just did a little sketch, the filter pads will definitly be removed, the red line indicates a piece of acrylic that i would put to seperate the refugium and the return pump,

 

[saxman]

Your post begs a question regarding your DT...are you running LR in it? If so, are you running enuff LR?
Unless you have a compelling reason to run sand in your fuge, I'd leave it out in favor of LR rubble and live macro, as sand can get everywhere, and you really can't have enuff in the sump to make much difference to the overall system performance.
Depending on your microbubble situation, you may not want to pull that sponge...just keep it clean (rinse in used tankwater from your WC's).
The reason for removing the bioballs slowly is to allow your tank to make up for the lost bacteria so it doesn't "burp" on you. If removed slowly, and your tank is allowed to catch up with itself, you probably won't really notice any difference in your DT, altho I can say that IME, live macro somewhere in your system is a huge advantage.
Your sketch has me a little confused, as it looks to me like you're putting a solid wall between the pump bay on the right and the rest of the sump...how is the water making it over there?
The fuge/sump on our new 210 gal system is KIND of similar, in that we added a raised fuge section to it. Water is fed into the fuge section where it overflows via a standpipe into the sump below. The fuge contains LR rubble and Chaetomorpha.
You could use a stand-alone skimmer that fits outside your sump, or try to find an in-sump skimmer with a small enuff footprint to fit where your current skimmer sits.
HTH