I'm reading this as I just came in from setting up my r/o system and water barrels in my garage. At least I have carpet fans and commercial dehumidifier if something goes wrong! Crossing my fingers.
Ps if any of you get in a pinch and need to dry out floors come and get them I would be more than happy to loan them to members.
Everybody on here is going to have a different opinion on bristle worms. they are good for your tank and sand bed. they feed on all the dead stuff. If they get to big you can get them out with tweezers. It's best to wait until about an hour after the lights go out. They come out to feed at night.
They make skimmer stands that look nice you can order. I made mine from egg crate with pvc legs. I've seen people use bricks I'm not sure I would put them in my sump but they didn't seem to have any problems.
I'm doing the same thing right now and I'm running everything exposed it's going to look professional I'm making brackets to hold the t-5's I'm using sun blaster single bulb fixtures. (2) on each side of my (3) kessils. I can show you pictures when I'm done. The sun blaster a are 25.00 each and you only need two sets of reflectors which are 13.00 a set. I'm making my brackets out of 1/2 inch electrical conduit I'm going to powder coat them myself.