Quote Originally Posted by ScorpiNO View Post
Return Pump
NEVER OVERSIZE YOUR PUMP. The size of your return pump must be smaller than what your overflow can drain. ACCOUNT FOR A SLOW DRAIN. I think 1 1/2" drains run at 1200 gph, I have a Danner Mag 7 return pump (internal) with about 4' of head loss, so it probably pumps at a few hundred or so gph. If you get one that is fast, you will quickly overflow your tank, especially if a rogue snail makes it into your overflow and clogs things a bit.

Clean Up Crew.
Always have alot. I buy crabs and snails just about every other time I visit the LFS. This is a huge detriment to your tank as they eat food that needs to be eaten. They are scavengers, just what a good reef needs.
Just to add here -- when configuring flow out of your tank, for exactly the reasons Erik stated here, its best to double up on outputs. If you think a single 1.5" is enough, put 2 of em. The chances of a clog are very real, and the end result is rarely pretty. The tank will only drain out as fast as you put it back in, once equilibrium is found -- the overflow portion of the process is caused by the return pump pushing water back to the display.

As well, for the clean up crew -- I personally tend to avoid hermits, in my experiences, they tend to be bigger bullies than their worth, though admittedly not as bad as true crabs are (fish killers! )... I tend to go with caution on crabs, and prefer a large variety and collection of snails.

-Corruption