The lifereef overflow boxes are the best on the market, i wouldnt recommend any other brand. The way they are designed make them safest on the market, and that piece of mind over an overflow box that will restart automatically in case of a power outage is so worth it.
The overflow box will continue siphoning water down until the water level drops below the box. That's why you need to keep enough room in the sump for the extra water if the pump were to go out.
One question I forgot to ask...is there a need to supply air bubbles inside the tank via tubing/airstones if you have a sump or wet/dry filter? Or is the sump and or filter oxygenated enough as the water passes through?
You don't need to create air bubbles in the tank. In fact, air bubbles can create problems with some fish. You do, however, need powerheads in the display tank to create water movement and oxygenation.
The sponge is for trapping air bubbles and particles of detritus. Some people use sponges, some don't. If you do use them, you will need to take it out and clean it at least once a week to prevent the stuff that's trapped in it from rotting and harming your water quality.
OK everyone, I picked up a plastic bin @ Wally world (to make my sump) that holds up to 6 gallons of water and the dimensions are: 15" tallx 11.5"widex 11.3/4"long. You guys think this should be enough "water room" in case the pump fails and there's a backflow to my 44 gal? I know the bigger the better but I'm dealing with small space and don't have any other options as far as modifying things.
You will want to drill a hole in your return line right at the water line. That will break the back siphon in case your pump fails. Then you need to do some tests to see if you have left enough empty space in your sump to accomodate the water that flows backwards until the siphon break acts. You will need to simulate a power outage by turning off the pump and seeing how much water flows backwards before the back siphon stops. Usually people leave 1/3 to 1/4 of the sump empty. But you won't know for sure until you try it out.
6 Gallon is tight to be honest, will be tricky to fit everything in. You will need to make your return chamber as big as possible in order not to run it dry.
You can calculate how much emergency room you will need incase of a power failure. You will need to know your tank measurements and goto this website.
say if you have a siphon break 1" below the surface, you would use that as your height in the calculation. That will give you your gallons from the tank, you will also need to know how many gallons are in your overflowbox+piping.