get in the habit of testing nitrates, phosphates, alk, ca, mg on a regular basis and chart it. Ph has an ideal range around 8.2 , but most corals can survive a slow change in ph and a steady ph is more important than an ideal ph within reason. Know your water source, most people have to use ro or distilled water because their tap water isn't safe. My tap water here has no chemicals, low tds, and slightly hard meaning i can use tapwater and not dosing mg or ca as often. Study up on controlling nitrates and phosphates and how much to feed your fish. Fish can survive high nitrates and phosphates but corals can't. Corals on the other hand can take some ammonia exposure, but fish can't. The indicator i would look for as a beginner is how fast can you grow coralline algae? Coralline algae like parameters pretty close to same as most corals, so if you can grow coralline you can start looking for simple corals.
