Here's a nano tank I had at a early stage 1.5ft x1.5ft and not that good really! I need to dig out the pics of my 6ft tanks, they are on another computer... but u get the idea. If you do a search i'm sure I have posted pics of my other mini-reef systems on here before I think, or they may have been on the marine nerdy sites I used to hang out on before herps...lol
Without being egotistical, I was a pioneer in Australia with marine mini reef systems and imported ALL my stuff from Germany and the USA as we didn't have the gear in Australia then.i'm talking ONLY 20 years ago not that long really and i'm only in my late 30's.
I used to get my phytoplankton cultures from the scientists from the CSIRO in Tasmania who I built report with and they were amazed I wanted this stuff for my fish tanks. The'd send it up in sealed vials, pretty funnt stuff reflecting on it now! I used to cultivate this myself to feed my corals and friends and family couldn't believe what I was doing and thought I was cooking drugs as I had all different types of pink and green bottles of stuff bubbling away in cupboards in the laundry and garage! lol. I also supplemented their diet with zoo plankton also cultured and other vital vitamins and minerals that corals need to flourish in a closed ecosystem like marine tanks. I even had a Blue LED lighting system imported from the USA, that dimmed according to the moons brightness and mimicked the full lunar cycle of 28.8 days, which helped not only the corals but the fish spawn, which it does in nature. I had wave makers breaking on to corals that like water movement and the other corals that don't are placed deeper in the tank. I also had MV lighting that came on in stages like the sun rising 3 in a row over the length of the tank, then shut off in stages the opposite way, like the sun setting. After that, the moon lights came on...an amazing system and beautiful to see. I used to come home after work, sit on a chair in front of the tank and watch it and relax for hours..better than TV. BUT my friends, corals and live rock are being stripped from the barrier reef and fish and invertebra harvested mercilessly, PLUS you ALWAYS are buying supplements and filter wool lighting etc etc etc...not good for the environment and NOT good for your pocket..That's why I changed over to herps.. LOL pics to follow when I get the old computer out...but I was very passionate about marines, but stick to herps and don't feed the marine hobby as it is desecrating our natural resources.
Cheers guys this is true and from someone who has been and done that, even though a marine tank is so beautiful, it is also inadvertently causing harm to our barrier reef and the worlds largest living organism! SORRY for the long post!
Flame angel, purple queen tuka, yellow tang, powder brown tang, hawk fish, bangai cardinals and a mandarin fish. And a huge peacock mantis but thankfully he left most things alone. 
