Bullet 2 skimmer operation?

[Beza]

Hey everybody,

So today I ****ed around with my Bullet 2 skimmer, figuring out whether or not it actually ran with the pumps I have. The thing seemed to work fine, and I checked out several placements, heights, etc. to see which one would be best.

I of course ran everything with FW, because I was just checking flows and looking for leaks.

By the end of the afternoon, I decided that the skimmer seemed to run best when it was in about 8" of water... but later I was reading up on it again and I found that the PM website says NOT to have the outlet below running water level in the sump! Yet with the outlet on the bottom of the skimmer, this means that I am going to have to provide about 25" clearance ABOVE water level just for my damn skimmer!

Now I know that the difference in density for FW was likely the reason that the thing seemed to only run well when it was nice and quietly submerged, and that when I fire the SW in it will be a whole new ball game, but does anyone have any solutions or suggestions for sump creation? I'm using a 65ish 48"x24"x18" tank for the sump on a 90gal.

As far as I can tell, my options are to build a stand for in the sump, or to try running it submerged. Pumps I have to run the thing are a PCX 40, danner 1800, and danner 1200gph. Plan right now is to use the 1800 to run the skimmer so I can have it in the sump right beside it in order to cut down on piping or having to drill.