[pogodzib]

Maybe the "caps" that I looked at are smaller caps than the ones on your bottles or I miscalculated in some areas. Different size bottles have different cap sizes and I computed the numbers quickly while I was in the middle of some other things. One of the things to remember is that the manufacturer is not planning on you dosing virtually every type of additive they make and they recommend the high end of dosages usually. Look at what one additive alone (Kent Essential Elements) has in it - Iodine, Magnesium, Strontium, etc... Your dosing those, along with other minerals in multiple additives. One easy way for that I could test for to see if I was overdosing was with the Magnesium supplement. If I dosed as much as the manufacturer recommends, my Mag would be way too high.

Now, for some of MY thoughts.

Can doing a bunch of small water changes hurt your system? I say yes. First off, it isn't necessary if you have the correct amount of LR, a good skimmer, and light feedings then your just wasting your money. Now, the reason why I say yes is because the bacteria and critters (pods) within your system multiply until they get to the count that balances the waste in your system with the amount of bacteria and pods that break down the waste. In a tank that is artificially kept clean due to water changes, if you go on vacation or skip a water change, your system isn't fully prepared to handle the skipped water change. If your system is used to less water changes and has proper filtration means, it is not being artificially being kept clean by water changes and the water changes are primarily used to replace trace elements. I do 10% monthly water changes and have seen people go many (6-12) months without water changes and they/we have zero nitrates.

Finally, I think it would be nice to see a side by side compilation of what people dose in their tanks versus how long they have kept reef tanks. My guess, is that the average beginner dose at least double what most experienced reef keepers dose, even though the experience reefers keep more demanding corals. The reason being is that we have learned that overdosing is bad and "less is more" in this hobby. Not to mention the money that can be wasted on additives that you don't see any noticable difference in corals and they make a tank less stable.

Here's my dosage routine on my 220 gal tank (260gal TWV) - 1 tablespoon of pickling lime (kalk) added daily through my ATO. 3 oz. of each part of a homemade two part (calc/alk) solution daily, and a little magnesium dosing when my test kits indicate that my mag is starting to drop. Once a week, I try to add a capful of phytoplex or chromoplex. No other dosings and I can frag off 20+ different types of corals on a weekly basis without needing to worry about over fragging.

Regarding feedings. I feed about 5 times a week. Feeding the fish twice a day plus all the liquid foods for the corals is a guaranteed way to have high nitrates.