I wish that I had taken more pictures of this project phase,
but there were times that I thought it would never get done,
so pics were the last thing on my mind!

This is the basement work area, after roughing-in the stand.
The mess was finally cleaned up by my wife almost 5 years later!
 

The 55 g was literally "slid" over the carpet to make room for the 120g.
The carpet was cut out of the base area so the stand could be better leveled to the floor.
Less "cushy" padding was placed in this area , which made shimming (to level) easier.
 

The easiest way to install a light fixture in the base!
 

This was a "dry run" of the lighting hood.
The MH ballasts are sitting on top of the canopy, and are wired to an extension cord.
 

570 watts of metal halide and VHO flourescent lamps, pushing out over 30,000 lumans of light!
Closer pics of my canopy
 

This is the mess made during the "final assembly",
which included wiring and plumbing everything together.

A view "under the hood" showing the plumbing and ballasts placement which maximized room in the cabinet.
The temperature controller and timers are on the right side, replaced later with a Neptune unit.
 

The overflows drain into a "dishpan" set into the sump via  drilled "horseshoe shaped" pvc pipe.
The skimmer also discharges here, usually on top a bag of GAC.
A  1" pvc repair coupling allows the drain assembly to be raised several inches to access the filter pad.
 

Finally, 200# of live rock, and a few days later, 50# of live sand was added.
These pictures show the front, and left end.