The Tank Set-up

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As can be seen from the above set-up the 4 Foot Mini Reef Tank sits on a cupboard which houses the filters and various equipment.

See diagrammatic overview of the tank from above

Starting in the right hand cupboard, you can see the main filter. This is an Eheim 2227 Integrated Wet/Dry Canister Filter which moves about 250 US gallons an hour. The way in which the filter works is that about every minute or so the filter fills with water, after which the water is then rapidly returned to the tank via a spray bar near the surface of the water. This is excellent in a reef tank, as it is like a surge of rapid water movement every minute on top of the powerhead movement. The filter is easy to get at in order to perform the routine maintenance. Also in this side of the cupboard is an Air pump, this powers the Sander Protein Skimmer which is housed in the back right had corner of the tank in a corner box.

In the left hand side a smaller Eheim 2211 Canister Filter is filled with Nitrate/Phosphate Sponge. This moves 300 Litres per hour. The water first goes through a Vecton UV8 UV light before passing through the filter. Finally, various timer switches are used to turn on/off the lights and some power heads.

Inside the tank, three 600 Litres per hour mini gets provide additional water movement. One powers a spray bar along the bottom back of the tank. This pushes any rubbish forward for easy siphoning off. The final two powerheads push water onto the rock slope from the top corners of the tank.

Finally, the heater is housed in the back corner box within the tank.

The 36 Gallons of water are turned over roughly about 15 times every hour.

Lighting is provided by three coralife tubes. A trichromatic, 50/50 and Actinic tube are all used. A coralife tube reflector is used within the hood to increase the light reflection. The lights are timed to come on at different times during the day giving a total light up of about 10 hours. The Actinic is the first and last light on.

See diagrammatic overview of the tank from above

Matt Chamberlain's Mini Reef Tank.