Preparing for the New Aquarium

I did it! I finally ordered my tank, stand, and related equipment. I should hopefully get it by Tuesday, and then I'll be able to start setting up the tank this weekend. After much consideration, I've decided to go for a 55-gal tank, Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) for now. The tank will be 48" wide, 13" deep, and 20" high. I ordered an oak stand, painted black to match the trim on the tank. I probably could have built a stand for significantly less money, but between the time constraints, and wanting a guaranteed good-looking stand, I decided to go with the in-store purchase. I also purchased the following equipment:

Fluval 305 cannister filter
Aqua C Remora protein skimmer
Glo T5 HO fluorescent 48" light fixture 2x54 watt with
1 - 18,000 K Super Bright Aquarium Bulb and
1 - Actinic Blue Spectrum Bulb
250 Watt heater (I will eventually get a second one as a backup)
Aragonite Substrate (dry, not live)
2 - Koralia #3 powerheads
Several smaller items, such as test kits, power strips with surge protection, etc.

I'm sure I am forgetting about a hundred things, but with the tank not even here, I feel like I've got a good head start on things. I am quickly becoming accustomed to driving to my LFS (local fish store), as I am sure I'll be making frequent visits there over the next few weeks. I'm quickly realizing why everybody on the discussion boards claims how much of a money drain all of this is. It's totally going to be worth it, though.

I'm told that if I eventually go to a full reef (meaning, add corals), I will only have to swap the cannister filter for a sump with a refugium, and maybe get some brighter lights. I've seen some setups online where the used the T5 fluorescents for reef tanks, though, so perhaps not. I feel comfortable that if I eventually decide to add corals, it'll be an easy transition, as well as not TOO expensive.

Here is the first set of pictures, showing the preparations I went through before purchasing the tank:

For those of you familiar with my house, this is the living room. The blank wall is where the new setup is going to go. It will be well viewed from several angles - from the couch, from the dining table, coming from the kitchen, and coming from the bedrooms.

With the help of my dad, I changed the outlet to a grounded GFCI outlet. Water and electricity don't exactly mix, and I wanted to be as safe as possible. Snaking the grounding wire down to the basement proved to be a particular problem, but we were able to solve it after two trips to Lowe's. Thanks, Dad!

Again, with the help of my dad, I was able to build quite the sturdy shelf. This is down in the basement, where I will be doing all of my water preparations, as well as housing the quarantine tank. The quarantine tank is made up of the tank and equipment from my old 20-gal. freshwater system that I started in college. Thanks again for all your help, Dad!

Right now, I've got the ability to air sparge four 5-gal pails as well as heat two of them. Eventually, I will be able to prepare more water at a single time, but for now, it will have to do. By sparging air into the water, the chlorine used by the water company will be released sooner, making the water safer for the tank. Until I can afford to get an RO/DI water purifier, this will have to do. Once I get the RO/DI, I might consider getting some corals, but for now, I am sticking to fish only with live rock.

Some of my other equipment: the marine salt mix, a towel at the ready in case of any spills, the light/hood for the 20-gal quarantine tank, and a bucket with a cover, so I can sit when need be.