I'm a total newbee to all this... Phono vs Preamp?

Ok, I realize that before a turntable's signal gets amplified it needs to (1) get EQ'd and (2) be brought up to Line level. I currently use a decent receiver that has a built in Phono Stage. My turntable also has a built in preamp, but I don't use it.

I've been looking at getting a decent tube preamp to fool around with, but I want to get this straight before I buy anything:
If I hook my turntable into a preamp that does not have a phono-stage, can I still hook that into the Phono section of my receiver? Or will that be too much gain?

Could I switch on the preamp on my table, or would that be too much gain?

Or would I need to get a phono stage on it's own?

Let me know, I'm a tad confused.