Haywire skimmer!?

[PufferGuy]

My skimmer is going crazy, it is overflowing everytime i plug it in... it seems like its sucking in too much water or not putting enough back in the tank. The filter inside the skimmer, at the end up the return pipe is really dirty but i dont know how to get it out. Any ideas??

http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/BH-100_Diagram-Sml.gif pic of the skimmer, im talking about the filter on the very right hand side.

 

[daugherty]

did you add any chemicals to the tank?

 

[daugherty]

you could get a large bottle brush maybe to clean it out with

 

[Bifferwine]

I'll second Daugherty's question -- did you use any tap water conditioner, slime coat, or additive like that?