This is a great post. Thanks for putting in your time for the rest of us!
I use Kent, and my Calcium is much lower than your findings of:
Kent 540 11 1200
I have a 180g which I'm setting up. Before even placing any coral in the system, my calcium was much lower. I dose B-Ionic daily, about 100ml (approximately 240g total tank volume), and my numbers are:
Ca 386
Alk 11
Mg 1280
NH4,NO2, NO3, PO4 = 0
pH =8.4
temp = 78-79
salinity = 1.025 via refractometer calibrated with pinpoint soln
All values tested with Tropic marin test kits
Is there a reason why I dose so much B-ionic, yet my Ca is so much lower than Billy's findings?