sump too shallow for skimmer

I was performing a water change today on my tank. I usually do the change out of my sump. I turned my skimmer on before the return pump for a while. I noticed it was pulling alot more stuff out than normal. This might of been because i stirred up alot of crap in the sump with the water change. But i am thinking now that my skimmer might skim better if the intake pump was further under the water line in my sump. I have heard that the level in the sump can affect the quality of the skim. Is this true? I could raise the level in my sump a little bit, but i have to heed to the fact of the sump filling a bit when i turn the return pump off. I was thinking i could also connect the intake pump to the skimmer differently. As of now the outlet of the pump is just stuck in the side of the skimmer. Would the skimmer perform the same if i got like an elbow plastic piece and hooked it up to them so the intake pump could rest on the bottom of the tank? I have a ASM G1 skimmer. How high should the water level be in the sump?

here is a pic of it.

The pump doesnt sit on the bottom of the sump. Its raised a couple of inches and sticks directly into the skimmer.
the level in my sump is not even a half inch over the grated guard on the pump? The water level in my sump is only about 6.5 inches.
Any thoughts?

 

I have read that most skimmers skim best between 8-10 inches, but that just depends on the skimmer. Your skimmer should have recommended water height. I tried to look it up quick but didnt find anything on the asm g1

 

+1 on 8-10 inches. My Bubble Magus skimmer recommends that and I am just at 8 inches. It does a very nice job skimming at that sump level.

 

ok. thanks. i guess ill set my ato sensers higher up in my sump and slowly add more water into the system