Some pics.

[SamsonNY]

Thanks Orion and Trigger,

I'm in the midwest right now (business trip this week), but, I'll post some more pics (of the new corals) when I get back to NY this weekend.

 

[SamsonNY]

A couple of more with the additional coral pieces:

 

[latazyo]

with those aggressive fish, do they attempt to claim a territory or a cave, or since there are none, do they just swim freely in the water column?

 

[Triggerman]

Looks great.
What did the coral skeletons cost you?
I bought a 100g tenecor off of ebay for 370 dollars.It came with a magnum 350 canister filter,power heads,test kits,and 10 coral skeletons.Five of which are very large(15-18 inches across).Deal of a lifetime.About 1200 dollars worth of stuff.I love my tenecor.
You are leaving no stones unturned with your set up.Nice job.
Just wondering what the skeletons go for.

 

[SamsonNY]

Thanks latazyo,

They all get along very well (so far). The tank has a lot of room and there are caves on the back sides of the corals. The center large blue and white pieces are fake corals which have "built-in" caves in the back. No one really dominates any certain part during the day. Basically, during the day, they're all over the place looking for food. BUT, I have noticed that they each have declared their own "bed" at night. Except for the clown trigger who goes everywhere and picks a different bed each night.

Thanks Triggerman,
You got a great deal. (I wish I saw that. )
Unfortunately, I believe I'm pretty much getting ripped-off by the LFS's when I buy the coral skeletons since the 10 pieces (8 real, 2 fake) have run me close to $1,000. But, all of the LFS's have basically the same prices. But, it's the look I wanted and the fish seem very happy with their home. And, it keeps the water's Ph at 8.2ish which is great since I haven't added any chemicals since the start-up.
I have noticed that the triggers are actually nipping at the corals and breaking chunks off. I think I'm going to charge them for the damage.
Total set-up so far (not including fish) ran me around $7,000.
Just looking for a nice Emperor to finish my collection. I saw one the other day but, he didn't seem very healthy so I passed on him. He was very pale in color versus the pictures I've seen of them. The employee told me that he would brighten up in my tank, but I just wasn't impressed.

The filtration is working great. Am and nitri sit at 0. Ph sits at 8.2. Temp runs hot but I've controlled that with the room a/c.
Water is crystal clear (thanks to the U.V., I think, but not sure).
The only problem I'm still having is with the protein skimmer. I'm not getting the "gunk" that I'm supposed to get. If I turn the pump's valve too high, I just get bubbly saltwater in the collection cup which is just draining my sump. Still have to tweak that thing out.

 

[kreblak]

You may be having trouble with the bubbles. The tiny bubbles are what does your skimming. Do you have a venturi? If so, try adjusting the flow until it works.

 

[SamsonNY]

Honestly, Kreblak, I'm just not getting that **** thing.
I've read the booklet (it's the Berlin Turbo XL; comes with it's own pump.).

It tells me to first leave the air valve (at the top of the skimmer) wide open and tweak the regulator (on the pump) until the water/bubble's come down the second tube about mid-way. Then, use the air valve to have the bubbles come down to just around the skirt at the bottom. No bubbles should be coming up the outer tube.

I've done all of that and still can't figure this thing out. The regulator is set at around 4 (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being wide open). Air valve is almost fully open. If I open the regulator anymore, I'll get bubbles coming into the collection cup but, it looks like bubbly saltwater. Not the "gunk" I see the skimmers at the LFS's pulling out of their systems.

 

[SamsonNY]

 

[kreblak]

Mine produced some oddness at first, too. I had a skilter, but hated how noisy it was, so I got a Remora. I just let the thing bubble up the water for a while, and eventually gunk began to appear. Now, it takes about 4 hours of skimming before I have to empty the collection cup.... nasty stuff.

If this helps any: I run the venturi wide open when I skim, and put the water through at a medium flow rate.

 

[SamsonNY]

Sorry about the double post. I have no idea why it did that.

Thanks for your help, Kreblak. I definitely need to figure this thing out. I'll try again tonight when I get home. But, last night, I just got frustrated and left it alone.