*snip*
The owner of the LFS I got them from said I want my nitrates between 20-40. Now, I know that is not what I'm being told here, but I had to take into consideration what they said because their tanks looked awesome with really healthy looking fish and corrals. I'm gonna shoot for 10-20 if I can get there. I'm really getting a little discouraged with my nitrates right now, but I just keep telling myself that I once was in this funk with my ammonia too and it got better.
I've noticed after getting back into the hobby, and learning a bit more about SW, that my LFS seems to be more about "selling" than being really knowledgeable about the hobby. Now that I know a bit more than I did before, I've gotten information from them that directly conflicts with stuff that I've taken the time to research, and have heard the manager of openly refer to the store as a "Fish Market"...
Looking back at my first tank, I can see mistakes that were made, and most were at the advise of the person who ran my LFS. This time I'm doing my own research, and have found that these forums are a great tool to get the information you need, or at least get pointed in the right direction. I'm not saying that
your LFS is steering you wrong, but I've learned to take their advise with a grain of salt, and never rely solely on their word.
Also don't let it discourage you, it's all a learning experiance. If you're having trouble getting your nitrates and stuff in order, this may be something worth taking a look at, and is fairly simple to set up:
https://www.livingreefs.com/mega-powerful-nitrate-and-phosphate-remover-diy-t16734.html
The new "up flow" version looks like it can be a bit easier to set up, and would drasticly reduce "splash" that the original design had
https://www.livingreefs.com/lowest-...-hair-bubble-turf-and-slime-algae-t41398.html
I'm currently waiting on the rest of the stuff to get here, so I can set one of these up on my tank. SantaMonica has done a GREAT job of collecting data and making it rather simple to do. :D
Hope this helps, keep your head up.