[DallasNYC]

I have a set up with stainers. They do clug up and need to be cleaned more often. I went away for a month and forgot to tell my neighbor who was watching the tank to clean them off. They didn't completely clog up, but enough for a slow trickle to make it over the edge. fortunately, he was smart enough to figure out what the problem was and fixed it pretty quickly.

So that said, with regular maintenance, strainers are fine. My next tank will have a built in overflow.

[jejton]

Quote: Originally Posted by masterswimmer He mentioned he's using: not using an external, hangon overflow that would require a lifter pump.....from my interpretation. But I could be totally mistaken. swimmer

Well I'm actually not using anything at the moment. Just doing research, but your interpretation is correct.

Now how do you decide on a pump? Is the pump the limiting factor in the flow rate or is the overflow? Does your pump have to equal, be less than, or greater than the drain rate into the sump ? ( To keep things simple, assume all of the flow is provided by the pump, either through a simple return, manifold, etc. )

[DallasNYC]

You want to make sure that your overflow canhandle more than the return pump.

Reef central has a basic calculator to help you design the size of your over flow ...
http://reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php

Of course, you should over design the overflow to deal with any blockage.

[masterswimmer]

A 1" overflow will permit 600 gph flow. If your pump is returning more than this, the obvious happens. Water will take the path of least resistance.....over the sides of the tank onto your floor

So bottom line is just like Dallas said, make sure your overflow can handle more than the return flow.

swimmer