Awesome to know about the lining! I will keep it in mind for the next build! I already have everything up and running where I can't change anything. (I can't pull the sump out without taking the tank off the stand.) I built a tray with 1/8" black acrylic and JB weld to seal it so it would catch any leaks. It has already been awesome when I spilled some being messy in my sump. Haha.
In terms of cycling and what you do it really is a matter of opinion. There are many ways to do things and it is what you feel comfortable doing. I used live sand this time and bought a pair of ocellaris clowns for about $18 and a cleaner shrimp just in case there was any ick. I did let the tank run for a few weeks without any fish only because I set it up before I left for a 2 week vacation. However, I came back and then put the fish in. (I also brought back all my corals in my luggage from the East Coast because it was the cheapest in terms of shipping and timing). I believe the ammonia and nitrite were even like .5ppm when I added them. Everything did fine and the tanked cycled fast with the addition of corals, fish, and bacteria I brought back.
I will say what makes the difference is I use TLC Start Smart Complete. This is the best bacteria my dad showed me that he used in the 40 years of his LFS. I also cycled my previous tank with the TLC, a handful of live gravel from my dad's store, and I was gutsy and did it with a pair of Black Ice Clownfish, which did perfectly fine through the cycle. I don't think the ammonia or nitrite ever went over 1ppm during the cycle. The key with adding fish in the cycle is wait 24 hours after you have the water in and temperature and salinity correct before you add the fish. Also make sure you get a healthy specimen that has been in a LFS for several weeks.
In the past my father used to sell damsels real cheap for $2-4 each to cycle tanks. However with the tank-bred clownfish, they are hardy and used to aquariums where they make good fish to cycle with. Plus clownfish are damsels and the cheap damsels end up becoming mean as can be where you can't put anything in your tank. Also clownfish used to be wild caught and had a high mortality rate transitioning into the aquarium until we started to tank-breed them. So they were not good for cycling 10-20 years ago.
I think as Longnose Hawkfish said and I would agree it is a matter opinion and there are a lot of them. Haha. Pick the method you feel most comfortable with doing and try it.
