I got this thing running today. I just went ahead and hard plumbed it for a trial period. You guys were right about a larger pump as well. It's not plumbed effeciently so I am losing some juice but I have to run the dart wide open AND close the gate valve on the outlet of the skimmer to get the bubbles moving up the skimmer body.
First thing I found out is that the outlet from the skimmer back to the sump CAN NOT be submerged. I plumbed it submerged to help with noise. I was tweaking the level within the skimmer when I wondered if removing the submerged drain would change anything.
IT DID - REAL QUICK TOO. Within a couple of seconds the entire skimmer was full and shooting a jets of water out the top. Now that everything is all wet I can't check for minor leaks.
It's bubbling but not creating a foam head yet. Not sure at what level to leave it at intially. I suppose I should run it on the low side till it starts to kick in otherwise I could come home to a foam overflow.
Gecko: Haven't forgot about your replumb question. Will get to it in time. Just don't have any at the moment.