You don't necessarily need a refugium or fuge. I don't run them on any of my systems and I do just fine. Of course, they do have their benefits, so if your budget isn't holding you back, go for it, but I am not an advocate of bio balls or any other biological media in reef systems, so I'd skip the bio-balls.
If you want a successful reef by building on what you have, here is what I'd do...
1. Sump. Get one. A 20 gallon tank will be fine. You don't need to make it a fuge, just an open tank full of water will do. That will give you a place to hide your heater and skimmer. Since you were already talking about it, I'll assume you did your research on overflows, return pumps, etc.
2. Skimmer. I don't see a skimmer on your system. A reef system should not be run without one, it's infinitely more important than a fuge, so get this even if you can't afford to do anything else. Spend a chunk of change and do this right. Get a skimmer from Coralife (Super skimmer), AquaC, Euro Reef, or My Reef Creations. Don't get scared by the price tag, they are all worth the price.
3. Live Rock. I estimate you have about 20lbs of LR in your system. Add at least 40 more. Having that much live rock in a 55 gallon tank will take the place of all of your artificial filtration. Your current HOB and canister filter won't be needed, and your tank will run rock solid stable. In this setup, your sump needn't be anything more than an empty box full of water. Again, this is a big ticket item, but it's worth it. It will also give you tons of places to place coral. Remember to cure the LR you get before you add it, since your system is already cycled.
4. Lighting. Sorry, the lighting system you have is insufficient. Since I'm betting your bulbs haven't been replaced in a long time anyway, get a new lighting system. Here is where you can spend a little or a LOT of money. I'm a halide lover, but unless you want to keep SPS, Clams, or Anemones, you won't need anything that fancy. I'd shoot for about 200-400 watts of light total. The 200w side will let you keep pretty much all soft corals, the 400 watt side will let you keep pretty much anything you want. The other thing you can do is slap another 65w system which should be fairly inexpensive over the tank now and upgrade later if cost is an factor, and just start with simple stuff like zoos and mushrooms. The stuff I listed above is a bigger priority.
