Sorry to hear about you're water loss problem, I'm sure the shock to your body and back wasn't good.

I'm just completing a new addition to my AP system, it's a Duckweed / Fry Catcher/ Raft.
It's 16 feet long, 13" deep and 11" wide, as water leaves the FT on it's way to my Whirlpool Filter / Fry Catcher, I install a 1/2 PVC line to my new tank. Fry's that make it though the pump will end up in one or the other.

As the water leaves the new tank it will exist though a non-working pipe siphon (only pulling water from the bottom) and will return to the Main FT. At that point I have a 5 gal nylon strainer bag to catch any Fry's / Snails / Duckweed.