nice... ok... so 11,000 is better... ok I'll go with that... what size should my overflow and outlet be? (8 ft L x 4 ft H). Either that or is there a particular formula for it?
LOL it wont be 11000. It will be way less do to head loss. Pumps are rated at their max rating, so after you hook up some pipes and go up a couple feet your pump wont push as much water. It's really hard to get an accurate idea of how much water is moving through your system.
I agree with Clay, the pump can easily be throttled back if needed or another pump added if needed. The part that is very hard to change is the drain. Put a larger than you think drain in. There's a couple reasons for this:
1) Once the tank is set up and running you don't want to drill another hole
2) Might want to add a trickle system some day, added capacity of drain will be a good thing.
3) As fish start growing you may need to add another pump. Super easy if the drain can handle the extra water. Just drop a submersible pump in your sump and run the return to your tank, done. Very simple.
Check out glass-holes.com for drain sizes and overflow sizes. I would just buy from them (I have three, check out my 360 thread for set up) but if you just want to copy, you can use their dimensions and hole size for an accurate estimate of how much water a hole can drain.
When I set up a new tank I put in the largest drain possible and just start adding Quiet One submersible pumps until I get the flow I need LOL no math! I have 4 pumps on my 450. When a pump fails (they always do) then I just swap out with a back up. On my 450 when a pump fails I'm down 25%, the fish don't even notice lol.
I have one back up pump for all my tanks. The system works for me.
Good luck!
