what 1 to buy 1st

The Ugly Phase

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so tank is 3-4 months old looking to add my 1st corals what 1 would be better for me atm mastertronic + doseatronic or alkatronic + doseatronic cant afford the mastertronic + alkatronic at the same time atm I HATE MANUAL TESTING would the alkatronic + doseatronic be the better option? as the tank wont be overloaded with corals and i change about 2% water in a 94 gallon tank each day (yes the water change it also automated as i hate that too 🤣 )
 
You may find setting up and maintaining those devices requires more effort than weekly testing. Also I've never read of anyone having a botched test result cause a problem in the tank unless they made changes biased on those results without verifying with another test kit. There's plenty of reports of people that have problems when those devices fail or malfunction. Even the people using automation have to manually test at times. JMO but there are plenty of people that love their gadgets that will probably offer positive encouragement.
🙃

EDIT: It's also very possible to run a tank without dosing anything depending on the coral load and WC schedule.
 
Honestly, you don't really need to dose if you are just starting out. Doing water changes is perfectly fine to replenish the nutrients your tank needs. It is once the bioload of your tank exceeds what a water change can provide is when you should start dosing.
 
I would suggest trying a beginner soft coral, such as a GSP, Leather, Zoa, Xenia, Mushrooms, or Cloves. You could also try Duncans, Candy Canes, and Blastomussas, as they are also pretty hardy. Also some SPS like stylocoeniellas and some other beginner SPS
 

WHAT MOST OFTEN MAKES YOU REACH FOR YOUR CAMERA AROUND THE REEF?

  • Coral behavior (feeding, extension, or movement)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • New growth or a color change

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  • Unusual fish behavior

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  • A funny or unexpected interaction

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  • I usually put the camera/phone down and just watch

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  • Other (Post in the comments)

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