need some advice

[solarris]

I am planning on purchasing everything to start a 75 gal reef tank within the next few months. This will be my first tank and I am very excited. I have been doing tons of research over the past couple months and think I have an idea of all the items I'm going to need to purchase but would appreciate it anyone could give me a list of what I will need to get started. So far I have come up with the following:
tank and stand
sump/refugium (think I would like to have a refugium but I'm wondering if that's going to be a whole lot harder for a beginner)
protien skimmer (i'm looking at the ASM G-2 skimmer that another poster said is on sale but wasn't sure if that was going to be too big for a 75 gal tank)
lighting (planing on going with MH since I really want to have corals and invertabrates in my tank and am told that anemones need lots of light)
pump to return water up from the sump
RO unit since I don't really have a good place to purchase RO water near my home (would appreciate it anyone could recomend a specific one since I don't know anything about them yet)
This is what I've been able to come up with off of the top of my head. Hopefully It's pretty close to what I'm going to need. Thanks for any help. I am so excited and can't wait to get started! :cheer:

 

[f14peter]

Obvious stuff:
Don't see heaters on your list. I understand the baseline for heating is 3 watts/gallon, but it's better for a tank your size to get two heaters that are culmulatively rated for more gallons than you have. Two heaters give you the option of placing one in the tank and one in the sump, and if they're on different GFI circuits, then if something causes one GFI to trip, at least you still have one heater working. Going over on heat wattage means that the heaters won't have to work so hard to maintain a temperature. Using the 3w/gallon guide, my 90g needs at least 270w, but I have two 200w watt heaters and am experiencing no trouble maintaining a nice steady temp, even though the temp in the house can range from a high of around 71-72 down to around 65.
Powerheads: For a reef tank, I understand you should be looking at 20x turnover (Total GPH x tank size in gallons). An alternative is to incorporate a closed-loop system in lieu of PHs.
Thermometer
Less obvious stuff:
Speaking of heaters, powerheads, and thermometers, plan on getting more than you anticipate just for your tank as you'll need to heat and agitate saltwater, any container curing/storing LR, a quarentine tank, etc. PHs are indispensible when moving water from container to container, including the tank. Plus having spares around never hurts in case one in your tank . . . er, um, goes in the tank (if you know what I mean).
Maybe lower priority, but you'll also need things like buckets/containers (I have several 5g, a 18g, and a couple of 30g plus a 32g Brute trashcan as my RO/DI resevoir), extra vinyl hose, things like plastic hoseclamps, GFI-equiped outlets or powerstrips (A plain ol' surge-protector just ain't gonna do it), cleaning gear like algea scrubbers, mag-floats, and towels, lots of towels!
Plus, salt and a lot of it. Our 90g has been up for three months or so and I'm nearly through my second large bucket of Oceanic salt . . . water changes, maintaining LR in a storage bucket, a QT, it starts to add up real quick.
i'm looking at the ASM G-2 skimmer that another poster said is on sale but wasn't sure if that was going to be too big for a 75 gal tank
Actually, I don't think you can overskim, plus I've heard it's not uncommon for skimmer manufacturers to exagerate their product's capabilities.
As for RO/DI units, I have a Typhoon III from AirWaterIce and like it very much. Not the cheapest on the market, but it works great. I've also heard WaterGeneral is pretty good too.