That’s strange but cool.I ran into the same issue with not having enough space in the compartment as am running the same skimmer as well! Holy crap our entire sump area is the same I couldn't figure out how to fit it into the sump. I figured I was going to have to drill a hole in the wall and have the pump on one side and the skimmer body on the other.
I’ll know tomorrow if my plan works or not.