You know... some time my sarcasm may get me in hot water.... just to qualify the hand slap...
I think the only mistakes I haven't made in this hobby are the ones I have yet to make...  I think in the first year I had my first reef I checked the alk maybe 4 times...  now I check a minimum of twice a week, and only then when I have dialed in the dosing... then after which I usually go buy something else that screws up the consumption level anyways... *SIGH*... so I guess until I get the tank crammed full I'll always be checking 4 or 5 times a week and adjusting my dosing... 
As far as nitrates go, don't really fret unless they're over 20 ppm... It's becoming a more popular notion these days that a few nitrates may actually be beneficial to corals... I must be very fortunate in this regard, as I feed my system like crazy and can't get a reading... mind you I have a 1 1/2" decorative sand bed in the 135, 3" in the 72, 4" aragonite in the 25g refugium and 5" in about 2/3 of a 55g sump along with 250 or so pounds of live rock and a Bullet 2 skimmer. Get this, I even have... I know I'm going to hear it.... *GASP* BIOBALLS as a return diffuser in my sump... If they become a nitrate factory I will remove them... but so far nothing... *holds hand out*
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135G Mixed Reef. Bullet 2, 25 gal refugium, 2 X250W MH + 4X 96W PC\'s, DIY Calcium Reactor, Coralife 1/6 HP Chiller, Phosban, Tunze, 2 closed loops & SQWD\'s, Seios, Coralife 4 stage RO/DI & a bunch of other expensive gadgets... I may never retire, but I'm gonnahavahelluvanaquarium!
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