George;

Sounds like you're on the right track, and it looks like your system will be great. I suggest you do not add any fish for a while. Don't worry, you'll have bioactivity to get the nitrogen cycle going. I also suggest you get as much live sand, that's stuff loaded with micro-critters, not the stuff in bags at the local fish store. You can get great stuff from Tim Marvin, you can also order activators from IPSF and Inland Aquatics. Ideally, you should do all of this. What you want to do is allow a strong population of sand critters to develop before you add any fish or other predators. Go ahead and run your lights as normal; maybe a slightly shorter photoperiod, but much more than 30 min/day. After a couple of days, you can also begin to feed the sandbed; a little phytoplankton, some decapsulated brine shrimp eggs, maybe some cyclopeze. Once your nitrogen cycle has stabilized, add some snails, but I strongly suggest you stay away from hermits. If you're buying cured liverock, which would be better, your cycle will be very brief; maybe hardly noticable. That's a good thing. Your tank will be biologically and chemically ready for a fish load when any residual die off from the rock has had a chance to completely pass through the system, and when your sand bed has a viable micro-life population and a decent crew of detrivores, primarily bristleworms.

You can keep an eye on the Ca and Alk levels, althought they will probably fluctuate for a while. Have you decided how you're going to replenish Ca and Carbonate? You'll have to get that set up; maybe dose some KW to get the coralline going. Most important, though, is the build up of the sand bed population. Check out IPSF and inland aquatics for stuff to do this.