newb setup questions, am i ready?

ok for starters i want to say look at my join date and the post date of this thread, this is how long i have been reading and researching.

intended use: mainly reef my daughter wants a nemo so i figured i would do a pair of false percs (for the bright orange color) my wife wants a star fish and i told her it had to either be a brittle or a red star since the rest get to big, might do a firefish also, other wise it will just be a clean up crew and corals, i know i want frogspawn, torch, green mushroom, GSP to name a few i dont want to fill the tank with miscl corals i want a few that will do their own thing that i can frag and help with upkeep cost. anems are NOT planned or desired.

i cant decide if i want a 20 long DT or a 20 tall DT i have both and have structured both to my liking but still cant decide which i want. i like the depth of the tall but i like the length of the long and no i dont want to comprimise and do a 29 gallon to get the best of both worlds.

brass tacks:
20 gal long or tall have both new just havent decided which to drill and use,
jbj nano skimmer
ebo jager 150 watt heater
Rio Hyperflow 10HF Water Pump
red sea reef master test kit
red sea marine master test kit
red sea hydrometer
Ocean Pulse Duo Wave Maker by JBJ
sump will be the 20 gallon not used for display
2- hydor Koralia NANO 240 powerheads
2- 3/4" bulk heads and plumbing/fittings thin walled
dorso standpipe drain made by me
27 pounds of marco nano rock
10 pounds of figi rock (not live anymore via craigslist)
1-17 pound volcanic rock (came out of same tank as the fiji)
digital timer coralife powerstrip to handle the lighting timing
2 extra powerstrips for the rest of my equipment
titanium ground probe
oddysea 150watt mh with dual 14watt actinics and moonlights
powersupply and pc fans for mh ballast and t5 ballast
portable ro/di unit since i live in apartment
coralife digital therm.
2-glass therm.
and the landlord will be installing 2 breaker style outlets for me at my cost

i think thats all of the big stuff still got tons of miscl little stuff not listed,
my question is am i ready to pick a tank and build my stand yet or do i need to consider something else?

one thing i do know i need a couple GOOD saltwater books ive basicly thumbed through the saltwater for dummies book and im not impressed i also dont like the books offered at petco or petsmart they all seem to tiptoe around the stuff i really want to know.

also when running the mh lights am i supposed to run moon lights during off cycle viewing or all night i know sunrise/set is actinics but when mh comes on do i turn actinics off the mh bulb is 15k if this makes a dif.

sorry for the long read but thank you for all answers and comments.
p.s. ive read every post in common mistake thread lol im so glad im starting this hobby with the internet at my finger tips, ive been avid freshwater for the last 17 years and finnally decided its time for SW.

 

I personally would go with the 20 high as a DT, the lighting you have i think would be a bit 2 much for a 20 long, as far as the lighting times, i have my actinics on for dawn, then i have my 10k's kick on and then shut off leaving my actinics on, then going to moonlights, and i think your good 2 go, sounds like you have the jist of everything, and have just about everything you would ever need if not more, Good luck and i hope i helped a little bit, but its really all what you would like to see!!

 

the stand i have planned would be big enough to hold the tank plus a 10" counter top on one side of it for maint and feeding purposes and to add room under stand for equipment with a integrated full dress hood basicly it will look like a full dress unit that has a 10" shorter tank than its suposed to have. ive ben planning and replanning to make shure i dont have to spend money twice or more because something doesnt work the way its suposed to. only thing im second guessing is the skimmer but we will see how it works.