Hi Josh,
I would look into tanks made by Miracle Aquariums which quality surpasses Glass Cages by ten fold (I own a Glass Cages tank). This will even give you the option of having an external back overflow which would truely free up valuable real estate within the tank. Standard 120 (48x24x24) would probably be easier to light unless you decide on a cube like cali-reef's 140g (36x36x26). Cubes are really cool and you can get away from the traditional canopy look, hang one luminarc III to light up the entire tank, then have Jon build a matching wood facade open on the top and bottom to surround the LIII if you don't like the aluminum look. Cali riveted an aluminum bracket on the right & left side of the LIII to attach a pair of 24" T5 actinics for dusk to dawn purposes. I would go with a 140g cube with an external overflow over my GC 120g if I had to do it over again especially if this was a coral dominated tank. Much more possibilty for aquascaping and growout. Also with Miracle, they actually use Starphire brand low iron glass vs GC's no name LIG. There is a slight difference when i looked at cali's tank before it was filled in comparison to generic LIG. GC's LIG still had some green tinge when you looked through the side of the glass while Starphire brand had a blue tinge. I guess every little bit counts. I don't know what Miracle's upgrade to Starphire was for cali but GC's upgrade to starphire for 3 sides on a 120g was $150.
If you want to stay with a traditional 120, I would also suggest looking at Oceanic's new Tech Series tank. The largest that they make in that series is a 120g. Definitely nice vs any regular manufactured tank including GC's tanks. The amenities were LIG front pane, narrow/wide center back overflow box, ABS splash shield around the inside perimeter of the top (like euro-bracing), no center brace, clean polished glass edges and black glass for the back pane.
Most hobbiest tend to save on the tank purchase which is a knee jerk reaction but after you've been around the block a few times, you come to realize that the tank is the most likely piece of equipment that you will have for the longest time barring up/down sizing. So initial investment for a tank built right or a tank that is eye pleasing or a tank that is form functional "is" worth 3x the amount of what you can get "a tank" for, IMHO.
Skimmer is another debateable issue. I always like to go a little bigger then manufacturer's recommendation and I do like the Deltecs & H&S skimmers though I would look into the H&S first due to the better pricing and thicker acrylic construction. As with either, look into the models that start with an eheim pump vs aquabee. Consensus has shown that people eventually upgrade to a larger model that employs an eheim pump.
Since your in an apartment, I'm guessing that you want everything under the stand so if per say you went with a 120g, your sump options are limited. I personally use a 30g long under my 120g but my return pump is external of the stand. I can fit a CA, large carbon and a medium phosban reactor inside the stand but my AP702 sits outside. When I ran my AP600, that was inside the stand. Possibly a 29g would work out better for you that way you can have enough horizontal space to plumb an external return pump without taking width space if you were to drill the sump on the front panel. If you go with a submersible return pump, then by all means, go with a 30g long vs a 29g. Don't attempt a 30g or 40g breeder if you plan to place equipment under the stand, the breeder @ 18" just takes up too much space width wise.
As with heaters and chillers, I would recommend that you run them via a controller whether it be a Ranco, Aqua Controller or Reefkeeper.
I use the Via Aqua titanium heaters in my 120g (2x250w), I've used Won, Ebo-Jager in the past and once a Won digital failed on my nano tank. I would look into the Finnex titanium brand also. With chillers, stay away from Pacific Coast only because of their flow restriction. I have a 1/4 hp PCI CL-650. Nice unit with 1/3 hp rated BTU on a 1/4 hp unit, encased in plastic, unit never failed but again: big time flow restriction! Stick with the proven Aqua Logic brand, american made and has an excellent track record. Reason why I didn't initially buy this was because I didn't do enough research, hoping the import brands were quieter (which they might be), didn't like the way every old Aqua Logic that I
saw was always rusting somewhere and size.
Josh, hope this helps and stimulates you into thinking of endless options.
