From my point of view, the needs of algae, invertebrates and fish in a small tank are so similar to those of a tank 100 times larger, doing a separate section doesn't seem relevant.
Being one of the early revolutionary nano hobbyists(1997) to have a stand alone 10 gal reef tank in a sunny window, later expanded to a three tier reef->predatory fish->unlit sponge refugium system, I'd say it's really all the same in principle.
The principles are:
water quality and movement,
filtration type and capacity,
light spectrum and intensity,
feeding type, amount and quantity.
(later the predatory fish tank was exchanged for a fragging tank with surge circulation.
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