New want to start a reef tank.

I just looked at the pictures of the different organisms that come on the rock. The second pictures looks like bryopsis to me, even though they don't call it that, and the anemones for the most part look like some kind of apstasia. You do not want either in your tank IMO.

 

I want to have a refugium section with live sand, rock and algae.

 

http://www.melevsreef.com/node/283

 

Can we take a step back? You say you're new and want a reef tank. We can help with that. Forget the refugium for a second and tell us about the tank you want to end up with.

 

I want a mixed reef tank with soft corals and some hard corals. For fish I would like some mandarin fish, a banner fish or moorish idol, and wrasse. But I have been more focused on equipment needed and have not started researching livestock yet.

 

All of that sounds quite reasonable (except the moorish idol. They're terrible fish tank inhabitants). You should start by giving some thought to the size of tank you want, and the budget you have in mind right at the start. The choices about filtration will be influenced by those two decisions.

 

My goal is to have a 240 gallon, 6' long x 2' wide x 30" deep, with hard and soft corrals with no budget as I will buy items slowly over time when as I can.

But I just bought a 75 gallon 48" x 18" x 20" deep that I am going to set up to learn and practice with. I think I want to start with a fish only or a fish with live rock.

On Black Friday I purchased;
Marine land 75 gal with stand and led light.
Spectrapure MC-RODI-90-MF
Vertex omega 130 protein skimmer
Jebao DC 6000 water pump
2 Hydor Koralia Evolution 850 power heads
Hydor Koralia smart wave circulation pump wave maker ddd
CPR CS102 Deluxw aquarium overfow box
2 250w Jager aquarium heaters
3 Red Sea coral pro salt 175 buckets
Red Sea refractometer
Red Sea marine care test kit
Red Sea reef foundation pro multi test kit (Ca,Alk,Mg)
Hanna Checkers for Phosphate, Alkalinity, and Calcium.

I still need a sump and lights and something to mix the salt in.

What other equipment do I need before I think about Fish?

 

That depends on how you plan on running your system. That's why I keep encouraging you to make the decisions first.

Just as an example, if you plan a Berlin method tank, you may or may not want a reactor for GFO. If you want to carbon dose, it may be a good idea to buy a good auto doser and controller. If you want to use the Zeovit system, you need a different type of reactor. Making a choice early on and sticking with it can be good discipline for some people. What equipment you need can depend on that choice.

That said, an auto topoff is a good idea regardless. I'm in the minority, but I'm an advocate for t5 lights. I think, particularly for beginners, it s hard to go wrong with a 4 or 6 bulb t5 fixture. Look into ATI for instance.

 

I don't know what Berlin method is, or why and when to gfo and carbon dose. I also have not heard of the Zeobit system.
I have plans to get an auto top off and was looking for t5 lights.
I think I need to spend a lot more time reading the boards.