ITGuy wrote:

Anyway, it seems to operate...the column is filled with bubbles. But no
gunk is coming out and the return water puts lots of micro bubbles in my
tank.

I even stirred up the tank so that some of the crap rose up into the tank
hoping it would suck alot of it out.

Skimmers don't work that way; at least, you hope they don't pull out crap you
have to stir up.

Skimmers remove suspended proteins from the water. These are usually invisible,
but some can be seen as sort of an oily film on the surface. If you don't have
decay products, such as dead fish, uneaten food, or fish urine and feces, there
isn't anything for the skimmer to remove.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.