What is going on with my skimmer?!

Clooged air line, any additives or food or medicine added to the tank?, when i put my hands in the tank my skimmer does the same, maybe its the oils, skimmer to low on water level, uneven water level in sump/skimmer compartment, clogged outlet ball valve

Sana
 
I think this is a water problem not a skimmer problem.

Stupid question: Have you been adding anything to the tank? Have you been using epoxy to glue anything down? Feeding the tank some new funky food? Add some new decoration or have a large fish missing. New filter socks that were not rinced before using? The list goes on and on. Even putting your hands in the water or doing a routine feeding is enough to knock down your foam head or send it into over drive.

Something is up with your water that is causing excess surface tension. Given that....there is no way you WOULD be able to adjust a skimmer to stop over foaming. If you changed something in the last two weeks, stop what ever you changed and in about 3 to 4 days it will stabilize.

If I were you and i had changed nothing? Id throw out all my top off water, clean the resovoirs thouroughly and start make a fresh batch. Also do you have kids or practical joker friends who might "think its funny" to dump something in the tank and then be afraid to tell you?

If you have a way to run carbon, put fresh carbon in (as much as you can) and do a 20% water change. That might help start knocking it back on track. If everything in the tank looks healthy then chances are it will work itself out eventually (given something is not going on thats screwing up your water on an ongoing basis)
 
When was the last time you cleaned your skimmer pump? You may want to remove the pump, take it apart and inspect and clean the impeller and housing. Also verify that there is no salt build up where the airline meets the pump. It could be as simple as something in the pump.

Next couple thoughts...

Has your sump level changed at all? 1/4" can make a big difference.

Have you added anything in the way of supplements to the tank over the last few days?

Did you do a larger water change in the last few days?

Did you change your filter socks recently?

Could you have lost an anemone or something in the tank?

If none of the above and you clean the pump and find nothing in there, set it back up and if overflows again, raise the skimmer up 1/2" with some egg crate or acrylic, readjust it and chalk it in to needed to be dialed in again due to changes in your water.
 
I change filter socks every other day. I did epoxy some frags in place but that was after the problem started. No new foods or supplements. I run GFO and carbon in separate reactors and dose 2 part but no changes in any of that.

I took the skimmer apart and cleaned it about three weeks ago. I took the round thing out that supplies air to the pump and can't note anything clogging it tonight. Where else should I look for obstruction?

I'm off Thursday. I'll pull the skimmer and take it apart and clean it again and see if that does anything.

Parameters are ok. nitrates are 1.0, Ca 450, Mg 1450,Alk 8.6, PO4 0.04. Thanks for the info guys I'm sure there is something different I'm overlooking, I just can't identify it right now.
 
Hmmm. Do you clean your filter socks in the washing machine and if so, could there have been any residual detergent in the machine when you washed your socks? I wash my socks in the machine and always make a point to remove and clean the detergent and fabric softener trays to insure there is as little residual detergent as possible and always set my washing machine to include an additional rinse.

This could be as simple as a snail making its way into the pump. Another thought would be a change in salinity which could be cause by a water change and a refractometer being out of calibration. I'm reaching a bit there.

Another thing that could cause overflows is mopping the floor with certain floor cleaners though that will usually not result in a perpetually overflowing skimmer such as yours.

If it were me, the first thing I would do is remove and disassemble the pump and inspect for unwanted intruders or debris.
 
Take a look at the water discharge area for an errant snail / something blocking the flow of water out of the skimmer body.
 
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