Best Bubble Trap Design

[bigfish14]

I will be building my sump soon and would like to know the best type of bubble trap. The water will be flowing from left to right.

 

[bdwilson]

Number 3 but a little wider distance between the baffles works for me.

 

[uncleof6]

Non of the above. There is absolutely no reason to have baffles go all the way to the top of the sump. A sump should only run ~ half full, so the extra baffle height is just a waste of material.

Typical bubble trap has three baffles, height set according to the needed water depth for the skimmer, evenly spaced, center baffle raised off the floor of the sump the same distance as the spacing--spacing set according to the needed flow rate (generally 1" - 1.5" is plenty.) First baffle placed just beyond the skimmer footprint. Don't crowd your return pump. You need the volume because of evaporation. ATOs can and do fail.

 

[bigfish14]

Thanks for the input guys. The pictures were not drawn to scale. I drew them just to show the flow of water. I did not plan on running the baffles up to the top, they were just drawn that way quickly. I was just trying to show the "over under" flow of the water through the baffles. So three baffles is better than 2?

 

[uncleof6]

Yep. Over, under, over. Better, is to work your drain system, so there are no bubbles to deal with, then you don't need the bubble trap.

 

[ebman74]

There are many opinions on this. I work for a large Aquarium Service company and we build all sumps like your first example, except the baffles do not go all the way to the top like mentioned. Under over under. If your last baffle before your return is an over the water will be falling creating bubbles right at your pump.

Just my .02

 

[mikelee35]

I prefer under over under, 1 1/2" gap in the first 2 baffles, 1" between 2 and 3

 

[Drae]

this design works perfect for bubbles but like uncle said, no need for the bubble traps if your system is plumbed right ( herbie, bean ).

 

[adam3876]

I'm not new to saltwater aquariums, but I am new to doing it right. I was going to start building my sump and had planned on doing baffles, but was curious about something. You said a bubble trap isn't needed if the tank is plumbed right. How should it be plumbed? Thanks in advance.

 

[uncleof6]

I'm not new to saltwater aquariums, but I am new to doing it right. I was going to start building my sump and had planned on doing baffles, but was curious about something. You said a bubble trap isn't needed if the tank is plumbed right. How should it be plumbed? Thanks in advance.

Use a siphon system for the drains; dusro modified and related standpipes are the big offenders here. Make sure your skimmer is of a high enough quality, that when properly adjusted, does not spew out bubbles. (A siphon drain system does not produce bubbles, unless it is out of adjustment or implemented incorrectly.)

 

[Pfisherman]

This is good stuff here, keep it coming. I was wondering about over, under, over or under over under myself.

 

[ca1ore]

Ideally, skimmer would not produce bubbles, but lots of factors make lots of things not ideal. Agree to go over-under-over, but I have also periodically added a horizontal baffle at the top lip of the final baffle so that water must 'sheet' over the horizontal piece which strips out fine bubbles quite well.

 

[KafudaFish]

You could go with a no baffles sump if you don't need to compartmentalize it as well.

 

[Decadence]

Spacing out the baffles more will reduce the velocity of the water and trap more bubbles.

 

[GroktheCube]

FWIW, even if they aren't needed for bubbles, bubble traps are great for settling detritus for easy removal.