It's all personal, If you're going to go with a hole on the side, then go with a bigger hole (1.5" or 2"), the hole in the side with a bulkhead and elbow is a lot more esthetically pleasin in the tank than an overflow box. You will have more room in the tank as well, however, some people do not like to run plumbing behind their tank and opt to go with an overflow box with an internal return line. With a hole in the side it will be a little bit more difficult to quiet down but it is possible. You can't put as much waterflow through it compared to a straight standpipe in an overflow box. You have another option, and that is to have a hole in the side and build a small overflow box near the top of the tank, that way it doesn't take up that much room, you can still install durso-type plumbing to keep it quiet.
Personally, I have an overflow box in all of my tanks. I didn't plan it this way, I just happened to get my tanks used, It does work out great though because I don't really like to run plumbing behind my tanks. The overflow box does act like a refugium as well because I keep a high water level in the box itself.
Hope that this advice helps. Come by AI and I can hopefully help you out a bit more.
Des
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