I have been feeding twice a day. I did the triton icp test this time. My copper came back high. New tank at 8ug/L, iron was also elevated but was identical to tritons batch test on my salt mix which is Nyos. I think they are on a new batch by now. But all the other traces and elements are what would be considered a normal reef.
I just want to be successful this time around. I am so tired of buying expensive corals to watch them slowly die. All these dang tests come back "normal" but everything fails. It's beyond frustrating. So that's why I am a sucker for these snake oil salesmen.
I think the important thing is to temper expectations and look at things from a high level... what RB, MS, Triton, and others are is simply testing using ICP to determine chemistry in the tank and using their own calculators to dose products to adjust chemistry and trace elements to levels they feel supports the growth. Same can be done with all for reef, or any other product that builds trace elements into things. We do the same thing with alkalinty or calcium supplementation to bring values up to what we want to hold them at based on testing... it's the same concept just expanded. Your tests are coming back good it sounds like - i think it may be time to look elsewhere for what the issue is - I was in the exact same situation with not understanding my coral loses and trying to fix things too fast or throw too much at it too quickly...
Remember chemistry is just one part of the tank - there are other biological things at play. Bacteria health, pathogens, pests, lighting, flow and more also contribute. You can't expect to put racecar fuel into an everyday car and have it race against a well tuned machine. Similarly, without the correct fuel an actual racecar isn't going to perform well against other racecars. These things go hand in hand. Correcting one piece of the puzzle doesn't necessarily solve the whole thing.
Tanks that have been stable, are bilogically mature, and are already doing well will likely receive a boost from any method or product that corrects trace elements or provides what the tank needs that is missing - if those trace elements were causing issues or preventing coloring up. If water changes, food, or other supplements being added are meeting the chemistry needs of the tank you likely won't see much improvement because there wasn't much room for improvement - and maybe issues are caused by lighting, flow, pests, or other factors. If someone stops a method and sees no change that's possible too... a healthy tank should stay healthy so long as whatever takes the place of a method or product is meeting the needs of the tank (be it water changes or whatever).
I'm also someone who sees the amazing pictures with beautiful corals and pristine white sand and wonders why mine doesn't look like that and tried to change things too often based off whatever the person claims their key to success is (usually to the detriment of my tank). There's usually more behind those photos like very diligent maintenance, a lot of experience, etc... It's also the reason there are so many methods, brands, viewpoints and experiences on things like high vs low nutrients, high tech vs low tech, etc...
Need to find what works for you and your tank specifically. I know I'm lazy so I take a high tech route and try to automate as much as possible. I'm bad at doing water changes, but pretty diligent about testing. I'm on moonshiners for about 9 months and I've seen both ups and downs - but the downs i'm sure aren't due to chemistry but the other factors mentioned - specifically I believe pests are my current issue. Need to get all the pieces in line to get the ideal picture. If i get rid of my pests I believe my tank should start to take off because I see it trying to and noticeable improvements after pest treatments... i just need to be more diligent/ consistent on the pest treatments.
Overall I'm continuing with MS because it fits my style, makes sense to me, and i've seen improvements with it... not miracles, just improvements. Keeping the chemistry stable with the method lets me focus my attention to the other parts. I could just have easily gone with Triton or RB or others and probably have the same result - MS just happened to be the first one I looked into and it seemed simple enough so i went for it. Customer service has been good and fellow shiners are supportive and helpful (mostly). I can't say for sure it's because of MS, but as long as things are improving i'll keep doing what's working for me. I'm slowly coming to terms that stability is key and MS brings a level of discipline and stability to one part of my tank in a way that works for me.