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1. Tee off from the overflow drain to supply the skimmer. (for those not using a pump to supply the skimmer) Why wouldn't you just run the entire overflow amount to the skimmer and meter it accordingly? Why would you send any water to the sump that isn't being skimmed? I could understand teeing off and running some to a refugeum and some to a skimmer .
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There are two reasons. The first is flowthrough. it is important to control the amount of flowthough the skimmer. Even though the skimmer may be able to handle the total volume of water coming through the overflow, it may not skim the best under those conditions. The second (and I still see a lot of errors in this area) is that a properly designed T will keep the water flow constant, allowing any variations in flow to go to the sump rather than cause surging, however slight, in the skimmer body. This is a big help in building an effective and consistent skimming system
Even though a pump may be consistent, doesn't mean that the drains are.
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2. The use of the tripple/waterfall baffle between the skimmer chamber and the return water chamber. I understand the bubble trap function of the tripple baffle but in a conventional sump the (sometimes noisy) waterfall is needed to maintain the water level in the skimmer chamber for the proper function of the skimmer but a recirc. skimmer doesn't need a specified water height.
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The triple is a little better at reducing microbubbles. I have a quin-baffle set up myself
And a sump set up right doesn't need the noisy waterfall. When I built my 125, the sump was dead silent running 700ish gph through it...
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3. Why plumb the feed line to the skimmer in the top. It seems like that unrushing water would nock down the bubbles.
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Because the drain for the skimmer is on the bottom and the idea is to give the DOC (dissolved organic compounds) the longest dwell time in the skimmer before the water holding them leaves the skimmer. There is a line where the feed becomes too high and begins to interfere with a steady foam head in the skimmer neck, but otherwise, up high is good.
Looking at your diagram, I think you would still have microbubble issues by the design as the bubbles can find a short path to the return. Doing a regular three baffle design makes for longer travel for
micro bubbles and forces them near the surface where they can dissipate. Setting them up right does not make a huge waterfall sound
With that said, many people run sumps with no baffles and are successful... But I think the standard triple design is a little better,
