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Get the coral viewer, I think flow is one of the most underrated factors in this hobby and I would not turn it down due to aesthetic reasons. Maybe look for the smaller gyre/icecap pump, it might do really well with your size tank and dimensions.
Nassarius snails also live in the sand bed and are good clean up crew.
As far as cycle goes, you can always add an instant cycle product when you add your first fish if you want to be sure.
First off good choice with the white sand. While pretty, black sand can have grains in it that can be magnetic which if you use an algae scarper in the tank can lead to scratches.
You don't need to run the gfo and carbon with no livestock in the tank. They are to pull impurities out and...
+1 To getting rid of those metal clamps, it is more a question of when they will rust not if. I know its uglier, but I would leave the plugs outside. Any spills or mini floods and boom you fry your electric.
Don't forget when you will the tank, it can make imbalances even more obvious. With that much shimming to do, I would fill the tank first and re shim before you really setup everything. We ran into this issue in our old apartment when we setup our cube and it was a pain to reshim.