Came a long way have been reefing since December 2016. When i decided to convert from 6ft arowana tank to a nano marine tank. Well all I would say it a lot more expensive to maintain a marine tank as compare to arowana tank.
So far many good things had happened Upgrade from Nano to a 2ft. After 3 years now my tank is fully stock up with different LPS why i only choose LPS well firstly my tank is rather small can't really keep SPS as they are less aggressive as compare to LPS. Just focus on one type. My over all favorites are still hammers different design, colors as compare to torches.
Parameters wise i don't measure on a weekly or monthly basics just keeping it simple so that it easier for me to maintain the tank.
Dosing with Tropic Marin Carbo-Calcium Powder Calcium & Alkalinity Supplement. 11ml per day i would say this product is cost efficient and good. (https://www.marinedepot.com/tropic-marin-carbo-calcium-powder-calcium-alkalinity-supplement) Just need bottle and a small dosing pump that it.
Happy viewing!