better use of sump space?

baddfish

scrubber fan!
I've been turning something over in my mind the last few days, and thought I'd see if anyone here has some input...
I have about a 27gal sump with three sections; intake, refuge and return. The 10gal refuge has around 20lbs of sand, some live rock and chaeto. The return area has an algae scrubber over it.
After using flow for refuge and scrubber, whats left is a pretty calm flow going into the 10gal intake area, which only has two heaters in it.
What I'm thinking is, the intake area is a lot of wasted space. I left this open in case I needed to add a skimmer, but I'm not so sure I'm going to need one.
The refuge I have now is loaded with pods, small starfish and snails, and a good sized choc.chip star.
Would it be overkill to put sand, rock and simple lighting in the intake area, and maybe use it as a second refuge? Or just leave things the way they are?
It just seems like a lot of wasted area that could be useful for something...
 
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