i think the overall goal is to just not have a tank riddled with algae and be able to fill it and sustain life , the rest is envy like sheena said.
most people buy a calcium test first...why , because its the easiest one for them to remember when at the store, all 3 need to be gotten right from the start or none are anygood to you except to see where you are, you couldnt add anything because you dont know what the others are.
but most people dont do that, they will buy a calcium test kit and add calcium or some other suppliment at the same time. it goes like that for a bit then the person realizes they need the alk test too .
so they test alk.....this is where most people freak out now, so they start changing salts as its the easiest way for a new person to chaange alk(alk is tricky to understand) .
once this keeps up they start reading that there relationships between the 3 and start back tracking over things theyve already added.....
you can see this is getting a bit crowded and confusing on whats going in and out right??
my opionion is if your goal is for a nice reef , stick to the basic instructions, but if your really want to do the chemistry part you need to log and journal everything, you have to eliminate yourself from alot of the variables, so get good testers, good dosers and good equipment all around, its hard to learn something when the equipment you use is not accurrate.
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