R2R Reef of the Month Spotlight: Anton Post's Dutch Reef - August 2017

Introduction:

Hi! My name is Anton Post and I’m a 29 year old guy from the Netherlands that got into reef tanks three years ago. I’m currently keeping a Red Sea Reefer 525 that has been running since January 2016. I’m very honored to be featured in this month’s Reef of the Month article on R2R! I hope you enjoy the article and pictures. If you have any additional questions please feel free to ask in the tank thread!


System Profile:

• Display tank: Red Sea Reefer 525
• Glass or Acrylic: Glass
• Stand: Provided by Red Sea
• Sump: Provided by Red Sea
• Protein skimmer: Vertex Alpha 200
• Carbon/phosphate filtration: Vertex canister filter with Rowaphos and Red Sea Carbon (both in separate bags)
• Return pump: Jebao DCT8000
• Water circulation: Maxspect Gyre XF250 w/ advanced controller
• Lighting (display): Giesemann Aurora 150cm
• Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: Yes, Balling Classic method
• Auto top-off: Provided by Red Sea
• Heating/cooling: Teco TK500 for both cooling and heating
• System control: Nothing specific, my Jebao DP-4 is doing the dosing, that’s it
• Any other details: UV-c 36W for water filtration, Dosing vodka/vinegar for no3/p04 reduction

Water Circulation and Flow Summary and Objectives:

I’m using the Maxspect Gyre to create a good circular flow in my tank. Before the XF250 I had an XF150 with the regular controller, and the XF250 with the advanced controller is definitely an upgrade. I have it running in a 10-60% random pattern which really creates a nice flow through the entire tank. My reefscape is fairly light which enables good water circulation, even in the bottom areas. I did also apply a Loc-Line double outlet on the standard Red Sea outlet to aim the water coming into the tank to where I want.
Water Parameters:

• Temp: 25-26 degrees Celsius
• pH: 8.0
• Specific gravity: 1.026-1.027
• NO3: 10-20
• Ca: 450
• Alk: 8.0
• Mg: 1600
• PO4: 0.20

Lighting Summary and Objectives:

I have chosen a hybrid light since this gives me the most flexibility in setting the light intensity and coloration. The fixture has 4x75w LED units and 4x80w T5 bulbs. For the T5’s I’m using ATI’s Coral Plus bulbs in all four slots. For the LED pads I’m only using the Royal Blue and Marine Blue channels. This combination of T5 and LED gives me a color scheme that I really enjoy. Also, corals thrive under these lights.

Photoperiod: 8:00 am until 23:30 PM. (See scheme for reference)

Filtration and Water Quality Summary and Objectives:

Since my reef is LPS, Zoanthus and Ricordea heavy, I try to keep at least some nitrates and phosphates in my tank for better growth. Additionally, I have some fish that eat quite slow so I tend to overfeed to give every tank inhabitant time to fill its belly properly. Luckily the nuisance algae are kept to a minimum, the only minor inconvenience is that I have to clean my glass every other day to get rid of the green layer that slowly builds up.


Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium Summary and Objectives:

Since I’m using the Balling Classic method, I always dose my Ca, Alk, and Mg in the same amounts, this keeps those three values very stable over time. I try to stick to recommended values for Ca and Alk (450/8), but I tend to keep the Mg a little higher (1600) since I’ve seen good results doing that (less nuisance algae, good coloration and polyp extension).

Tank Inhabitants—Fish:

1. Copperband Butterfly (since November 2014)
2. 2x Mandarin Fish (Synchiropus splendidus)
3. 2x Pterapogon kauderni
4. 4x Evansi Anthias
5. 2x Macroparynghodon Meleagris (male + female)
6. 1x corythoichthys intestinalis
7. 1x ostracion cubicus
8. 1x salarias fasciatus
9. 1x Bristletooth Tomini Tang
10. 1x equetus punctatus (juvenile)


Other Invertebrates:

1. 2x Sea Urchin
2. 2x Sand Sifting Seastar
3. Various snales, including an Abalone Snail


Tank Inhabitants— Corals:

I could list them, but I’ll leave the pictures to speak for themselves. My tank mostly has soft corals varying from LPS to zoa’s, softies and ricordea. I do have some SPS pieces but they are scarce and positioned on top of the reef to give them as much light and flow as possible. Also, since my nitrates and phosphates are relatively high, SPS won’t be as colorful as they could be in an ULN system.

Fish and Coral Feeding:

I feed my fish twice a day, every day a small piece of Easyreefs Masstick attached to the glass, and in addition to that a mix of Mysis and Krill. The reason I’m feeding Masstick is that nearly every fish in the tank loves the stuff; even the copperband and the boxfish are really into the stuff. For coral feeding, I assume that they get enough food from the stuff that I’m feeding the fish with. In addition to that, I add a bit of Polyplab Reefroids every week and once a month I feed some corals a bit of Fauna Marin LPS grains.


Who was responsible for getting you into the hobby?

One of my best friends was rocking a Dennerle 60L nano cube with two clownfish that really fascinated me every time I went there to visit him. In Spring 2014, he decided that he wanted to step it up a notch and he convinced me to take the Nano Cube from him. He still has a tank today and we both are still enjoying the hobby very much. So definitely a big thanks to him for convincing me back then that this is the best hobby ever!
How long have you been doing this?

For a good three years now, in which I have had three different tanks. Like I mentioned, I started off with the Dennerle Nano Cube, after which I upgraded to a 400L see-through tank which was custom built. When we decided we were moving houses, the Red Sea 525 was my tank of choice.

Who or what in the hobby most influences/inspires you?

Definitely the reefing community, fellow reefers are often very enthusiastic and willing to provide advice from their own personal experience and knowledge. That is what makes this hobby so very nice and interesting. Things that were deemed impossible 10 years ago (keeping Goniopora alive, or even keeping harder SPS species alive) are now more and more common, given the right circumstances in a reef tank. Also, the tremendous support on various social channels like YouTube and Instagram are really nice. They keep me motivated to share both content and information with the community.

What are your future plans for improvement/upgrade of the tank?

I’m not really sure yet. I’m very happy with the tank as it is today, but I can’t keep it the same for a very long time to keep myself motivated, so I’m already thinking what the next change will be. I haven’t quite figured it out yet, so for now I’ll stick to the Reefer until I make up my mind!

Final Thoughts?

One of the most beautiful things in this hobby is still coral growth. It’s unbelievable how various species grow or duplicate in such a small captive environment, given the right circumstances. Good examples are a Duncan coral which has grown from 5 to 50+ heads in three years and a Montipora Hirsuta that I have fragged over and over but it just keeps growing back into a full grown colony in mere months.