Going to make this wet.

Live rock work and sand all in.

I did think about the window. The good thing is the window is on the north side of the house and there are wooden shutters on the inside I can close. My at home boss ( aka wife ) got home from work and did the rock work in the tank all I had to do was get everything together that she would need. I just had to remind her that nothing could touch the glass. I put a little bit of sand down special reef grade ( I liked the grain size it has a really good mix) on the bottom of the tank and a bit more along the edges knowing it would be difficult to get to after the rock was in. My wife did a really nice job at the aquascape. Lots of nooks and crannies for the critters. I know I cant be the only one the only one that had there significant other do or help the rock arranging. Or maybe I am? Well here are some pics of the rock work.

 

Looks good!

Also: my window was north facing as well, in a pretty heavily shaded yard. I am always at work during the day, so I didnt think it even got any sun at the angle it was at (we very recently moved the tank there). Turns out it does get a little... and suddenly my algae bloom was explained! Bought curtains, since we didnt have any and it's a new house, and my algae problems were fairly quickly solved