If it is a raceway have you looked into baffles?
That is pretty much what my new boss wants to do with our raceways instead of cleaning by scrubbing, drawing down, etc.
I prefer a non fish zone at the back of each rearing area for settling solids. We actually have solid baffles hanging over our end screens inside where only maybe an inch of screen is exposed so the force pushes solids better. You can drain the sump without having the whole tank drain. The only problem it can pin fish quickly if they are small.