As someone who stressed out over my own filtration WAY too much, I can tell you I overthought things, and I would suggest you just go for it.
DIY is always a matter of comprimises for your application and budget. That being said personally I feel that a longer screen, if convienient, is the best way to go. You can focus your light on a section of the screen and then let the water drain down the screen, even if the lower part is unlit. The screen should always fall all the way down into the water level of whatever it is draining into for peace and quiet, and if you do need more filtration later you can always add light to the currently unlit portion of the screen.
I went with the overflow method too, and while it would be nice to have more pods in the display I do love the simplicity of it. If you ever do decide to get a bigger/different pump I REALLY like my Quiet One 3000 by Lifeguard, Its quiet, cost me $60 shipped, and pumps around 700GPH. This site has a listing of the Quiet One pumps and flow charts: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...AID=1059621918
There are probably several things I could have done better, and I am sure that what I did is not what others would do, but my filtration works great, I only clean it once a month (if that), a single cheap pump provides my entire tank circulation, and I have nothing but the beautiful sound of a gently flowing water in my room at night, which is a GREAT white noise generator.
PS: Dont mind the cup, its just a vent that occasionally blows out a bit of crud.