Nano build suggestions

So this next fall I will be going to Iowa for enviromental science, and could not fathom leaving every drop of my saltwater behind. And now, I am conflicted, I was thinking about doing a rimless tank around 5 gallons, but was unsure if I should go glass or acrylic, and what filtration I should be using. I want it to be self sustainable, and low maintenance, because I most definitely do not want to do water changes every week or two, and have to be buying salt and mixing water and yada yada yada, you understand all of the time upkeep requires to have a spotless, algae-free aquarium.

So my current idea, or fantasy depending on how you see it, is to run a diy HOB refugium out of an aquaclear 20, grow copepods inside of it, then when they are more than plentiful throw in a Hippocampus zosterae, fire shrimp, and or pipefish. (planning on a zoa garden for the most part, and possibly a few other soft corals + an acan if possible without dosing anything) Obviously, I dont want to have to bother with frozen food, so I thought this was the best solution, throwing some chaeto and carbon inside the refuge, and grape kelp in the tank in an attempt to keep up the copepod population, keep nitrates as low as possible and still have crystal clear water.





As far as tanks and lighting go, the university has a 20 gallon and under policy, and I was trying to get as close to 5 gallons as possible. (Not to much water to deal with) My roomate is not as confident as I am in my ability to build my own, so i've been looking all over for a rimless tank to take up as little space as possible but also not be so tiny no one appreciates it. finally I stumbled upon these, a three or seven gallon glass tank with curved edges. I was attempting to spend under 50 dollars, so the seven gallon just barely meets that requirement. the sizes do bother me, and i'm leaning towards the 7 because three seems way to small for what i'm planning on doing with it, although seven is on the verge of being too big. http://micro-reefs.com/aquariums.html These come with glass tops, which was another concern about deflecting too much light, but neccesary to ensure that the evaporation won't get out of control.

I got a light off of Alex Mcg that I plan on using because I can either raise or lower the lamp with little effort to find what works best for my corals, it's the 12k with 3 white and 2 blue Cree Leds. http://www.ecoxotic.com/ecoxotic-par38-aquarium-led-lights.html I have never used a glass top before under LEDs, expecially from a foot above water level or whatever distance won't melt all the zoas, so am unsure how much light will be deflected off the top and into the room, which could get very annoying very quickly. The picture is of the light, six inches above his (75?) gallon tank



So feel free to praise or criticize my plan, most likely the latter of the two, and give me some insight and personal experience. What I'm doing wrong and how to correct it, but more than all, is this even possible?? /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wow.gif Thanks alot!

 

Yeah, well what if I just had softies in the tank with the refugium and no fish? Would the fuge be able to keep the nitrates down? If not, what can I do in a five gallon? Not wanting to mess with anything much bigger..

 

Makes sense, I just wasn't sure and didn't want to set it all up in the dorm then have it fail after a few weeks. I may try that, thanks a lot!