My diy 55g trickle/refuge/sump combo

[wrassie86]

Ok so this is what i have been building for the last few days it's not done yet (waiting for supplys)But i just got done with what i call the bio tower.basicly it's same thing as a trickle filter. filter pad area in the top with drip plate and a bio ball area in the bottom,Made of all acrilic, and will mount about halfway down in the 55g.
The 55g will be devided into 3 parts filter-sump-refuge I will have a small pump that feeds water to the refuge from the filter area where it will inreturn spill in to the sump part and returned to the display.anyway i hope to have it up and running late next week.
What i want is to know is instead of bioballs (i know the pro's and cons) would a few pieces of live rock make a better choice in the bio area for the water to trickle on?i read this on a few sights around the web and thought it sounded good.what do you guys think?

 

[big slick]

I am running a fuge a little differnt from yours, but in response to your question, I went with coral skeletons instead of bio balls for the Ph benefits they bring. I figure by the time the water passes through the drip plate as your mechanical, all the bacteria you'll need will be growing on the coral skeletons just as strong as any bio ball, but I get the PH benefit to boot.
Give me 24 hours and I can shoot you new reply with a picture attached