Did anyone receive a replacement impeller from Rea Sea?

I received mine today and I wanted to know if I needed to remove the black caps on each end of the impeller? Another question is: I have 1" tubes connected to my outlets on my skimmer because it's hooked up outside of my wet/dry and I need the water to reach the filter. Should I sit the end of the tubes ontop of a sponge to stop the micro bubbles from appearing in my tank? Now, there is a three to four inch gap between the sponge and the tubes and I still get the bubbles in the tank.
 
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