I good refugium is a great filtration system, though I think a skimmer is a good complement. I have a heavily stocked 55 with a HOT refugium that has a DSB and is full of chaeto. I have to prune it out everh 4-7 days. I also have a HOT BakPak filter, and it skims at least 1/2 cup of gunk every day or two. If either one isn't running optimally, you can tell. If the tank wasn't so heavily stocked, I could get by with one or the other.
