700 gallon build and fishroom revamp

I have been planning my 700g build for about 6 months and I am finally about to begin. I had been selling off some of my smaller setups to pay for it, but just had a break that will enable me to start before I get them all sold off.

So I am finally starting my official build and general fish room revamp thread! I have all my tanks in my basement in what essentially amounts to fishroom, though I would like it to feel more like a rec room that has a few cool, large aquariums. So I am using the build to kind of close the room off from the rest of the basement and I am only keeping my two biggest tanks (150g and 120g) besides the 700g.

The tanks dimensions will be 96"x48"x36". I am using 3/4 inch plywood framed with 2x4s to brace it, and I'm using cement blocks for the stand. I am lining it with EPDM pond liner, and using contact cement to glue the liner to the front panel where the glass will attach. I'll be using 3M 5200 Marine sealant to adhere the glass to the pond liner, and will have two side by side 48"x30" panels of 1/2" glass on the front. I am lining it with foam to insulate it and help it hold heat better, and will be heating the entire room it is in. Filtration will be a couple DIY over head wet/dry style trickle filters, using rubbermaids. Lights will be DIY LEDs, though I may use some stronger lights over part of it to grow some water lettuce or the like. Still figuring out exactly how I want to make a hood that holds the moisture in well... Hardscape will be some giant driftwood stumps I picked up at the family cottage, and since the inside will be black I think I'm just going to go bare bottom. I will also be setting up an autodrip water change system after I have it up and running.

Stock will be as follows. I have most of them already, some are big, but most are in groups of juveniles I'm growing out. Most I will only keep one per species and any trouble makers will be gone.

Oscars
Synspilum cichlid
Polleni cichlid
Pearsei cichlid
Bocourti cichlid
Amphilophus hogabom..whatever and maybe lyonsi
a mellow (so far) Midevil
a Loiselle cichlid
Vieja regani
Carpintus cichlid
Green Terror
Caquetaia kraussi or myersi
Red Pike cichlid
Wild morph Petenia Splendida
a couple Peacock bass, Kelberi and/or Orino
a Giraffe Catfish
a Fire eel
Florida gar or Arrowana
a Hi fin banded shark
some bala sharks
one or two pleco species that max out around 12" - can't remember the L#s

My stocking is somewhat fluid, and may change as they grow, since I'll remove any fish I am not in love with, or as it seems too crowded. I'll adjust the auto change based on who heavily stocked I am when they are getting closer to full size.

I am very happy right now because I can start now since I just got the glass for next to nothing!
I noticed last summer when walking our dogs that a neighbor down the street had a large aquarium lying on its side on the some pallets in his driveway, and it has been there ever since. So since glass the it single most expensive component of a build, I got up the nerve to knock on the door and ask if he was interested in selling it. He said sure, it was too big for him, and did $30 seem fair. (!!) This tanks dimensions turned out to be 48"x18"x30" so the front and back panels are perfect to be my two panels. That cut down my total cost by over $200 so I am able to go ahead and start building even though I haven't sold all my tanks yet.

So far this has been the cost
Glass - $30
Pondliner - $100

Plywood will now be my biggest cost at around $170
Other miscellaneous stuff like the 5200 sealant, 2x4s, contact cement, and foam will probably be another $100, but I think I'll be coming in at around $400 for the tank itself.

Because of this I will be able to put the extra money from selling my smaller tanks toward equipment and stock. It will probably be especially cheap since most the tanks and setups I'm selling were ones I bought for a song off CL, fixed up to use, and now am selling at a profit.

Now, as soon as a finish a stand I am building and move a couple of my current tanks out of the way I can begin the actual build. My goal is to be done by the end up January! I will update with pictures soon!!

Thanks for the input! I am doing two panels to save money because cutting the length of the panels in half mean they can safely be thinner, and thus cheaper. I used multiple glass thickness calculators and the all put at a little over 2.5 safety factor, which I believe is considered safe.

It is a little hard to explain what I mean, but since the tank will be about 36" tall and the window only 30" I am going to have the window not all the way at the bottom, but raised a few inches and the glass will rest on a 2x4. So I won't have any additional pressure like it would if the glass were all the way at the bottom and then I had 6 inches if plywood tank above it. And I am not going to fill it much above the window either, the extra couple inches are just for safety. I think it is probably ok, from my research (though certainly feel free to share your concerns - they can only help me!) and because both this tank and my 150g wide have 1/2" panels that are 4ft long and 30/31" high.

am I correct in thinking that theoretically a well braced plywood tank should also provide more support for the glass than an all glass tank? I thought I read that.

Another question, how wide should the plywood frame be that the glass rests in. I was think 3-4in?

I'm not doubling up on the glass the way you mean, I am using two panes, side by side. Imagine a picture frame meant for two side by side photos. So instead of doing a 96"x30" sheet of glass (that would have to be very thick!) I am doing two 48"x30" panels in a row. Since they are only 4ft long instead of 8ft they need not be as thick.