Hey Chad,
Sorry to hear that you purchased a Sea "Clunker". That's ok though-we all make mistakes. I bought one when I was in my first year, and it was also dismanteled by the end of that same year. I to also made every mod upgrade with not much success.
For smaller reefs such as ours, there are a few really good skimmers out there that will do the job. IMO if I were you I would think about selling or trading in the Sea Clone. Then you could go with either a Remora, Bakpak, or a Prizm. I have been using the Prizm model now for just over 2 years and I am happy with it's performance most of the time.
Like Jack mentioned, all skimmers have a break-in period. Some can run great after a few hours and others sometimes need a few days before they will even show a sign of working. My roomates Berlin will draw out waste after about an hour or two after cleaning, where as mine takes up to a full day before it starts to collect build-up just in the risser area of the unit.
Be patient with any skimmer IMO, as they all seem to have there faults.
Also be aware that if you have a smaller tank, and are keeping up with monthly water changes then your skimmer will not likely be able to draw out too much waste from a clean water column. My skimmer basically runs in sleep mode for the first to weeks of the month until a slow accumalation of waste can start to be collected in the last two weeks.
Goodluck!
cheers, Rich