rdmpe,
Thanks for the reply.
I agree with your conclusions. However, I filled the tank/sump with fresh water to test the herbie method, OMG it was so silent and I really like that advantage. What concerns me is the day to day fluctuations in water level in the over flow chamber, which, during my testing, DIRECTLY affected the level in the return chamber (middle), which is where I think I should put my ATO system. In other overflow systems (durso etc) that chamber stays pretty constant except for evaporation which is nice because the ATO takes care of that to a greater degree of accuracy. With herbies method I'm afraid the use of the ATO will be used not only for evap. but to large degree fluctuations brought on by herbies method???
Am I worrying to much about this? Am I correct in installing the ATO in the middle return chamber? If I don't use a sock but a block sponge to mechanically filter the water would that work better? I believe I need something to catch all the unwanted crap that gets stirred up or floats around the tank...right or wrong? Do you use herbies method and do you use any mechanical filtration in your sump on a permanent day to day basis?
Sorry for all the questions. This is my first large (other than a nano) reef tank and I just want to get as much right the first time.
Thanks