Gain staging question on Ultralite AVB

[robotronski]

I'm using an Ultralite AVB with 8 extra channels coming in via ADAT and wanted to check I'm going the right way about gain staging.

What kind of max levels should I be aiming for on the meters in the mixer? I was a bit confused at first as the meters seem to max out at 0db so it was harder to spot when they were going over, and switching on the compressor at default values increased the levels past what I thought first looked ok in the mixer.

Aside from that is the below a good approach?
1. Leave trim levels at default (setting the required levels on the synths/sources) and only increase trim if the source won't send a loud enough signal
2. I'm using groups for FX sends and usually just want to set them on/off (wet/dry set on the FX unit), should I set send levels to 0db and just adjust the output level on the group faders to get the right level inputs on the FX units?

Might not be a definite right/wrong answer to some of this, I just wanted to check I was approaching it the right way.