Building a ref aquarium is a very slow and involved process. I'm sure through your reading you have discovered that there are many theories behind each piece of equipment you purchase.
I would suggest you see what you can afford.
If 100G is the room you have then go with a 100G.
From there i would research Lighting, Skimmers, Sump design and come back to Canreef and ask specific questions about each piece. It will be a lot easier for use to comment on a piece of hardware rather than generalize.

But for an Idea of what I believe you will need.
Tank and Stand
Sump
Lighting
Skimmer
Method of flow (closed loop, power heads)
a way of maintaining Calcium and Alk (daily doseing, CA reactor, Kalk Reactor)
Live rock
Sand
Timers or controller
PH monitor
Test kits
Salinity measurement device
Heaters
J

New Set Up
 

If you dont go sps corals it is very simple.Me and my friends test ph only but we do water changes every 1 or 2 weeks.All you need is live sand/ cured live rock if you can get it/a couple power heads/ heater /skimmer /Metal halide good but if you cant afford power compacts fine but limits the coral you can buy. Supplements Reef Complete/Iodide/marine buffer/electronit ph moniter if you can afford but manual okayA computer fan mounted on your tank.You want the temp no higher 78 degrees.I/m not really into sps but am looking into it.Hope this helps and any questions ask.I read on the internet but me and my friends rather buy corals then books.I do lke looking at the pictures thow.

Thanx Salmon

I haven't finished reading this thread yet, but already I'm pretty much not in the mood to help.
The real ANSWER is read more, and then decide what YOU want from what you've read. Yes, I know you don't like that answer, but that is THE answer.

Every member on this board will be the same as the books. 50 members, 50 different opinions.

This thread
 

Since the begining I could tell Slipstream doesnt have much money.He would like buy all the stuff you people were suggesting but was trying to do the best tank with the budget he has.That is what I got out of it.I like the pictures he posted.Remember your first tanks

Thanx Salmon, your one of the FEW people on this site actually willing to help me in my particular situation.

One thing im trying to look into, is saving up for a reef cube... U know, the all in one filter systems for a reef tank. :)

Well, thats just such a nice post about a board, thats one of the best online, and esp. a board that caters to local reefers in its main area,s.

I thought, many were offering you good advice. What else would you like for them/us to post? Please let us know what it is you require?

Did you read the reference library I pointed out and that one of our staff spent tireless hours setting up for new aquarists to read or someone with particular problems ? Lots of good info.

Those look pretty neat. Several of our members are running one or similar tanks. I remember reading some in the journal forum.

I would be wary of their filtration capacity and some are much better than others, {lighting also}, but I guess water changes are easily done and will greatly assist filtration.

What about having a smaller cube built & running a sump? Some nice ones on here also.