Newbie: Tons of questions

I'm not a mariney- but might I suggest you post photos so that people can see exactly what you have and give your more complete information on the specific items you have.

Great people on here both on the fresh and marine sides... BTW

The thing with the coils actually sounds like a chiller to me. The coils you see are the radiators getting rid of the heat.

If so, that's probably a good find, those things are pricey!

your "heater" sounds more like a chiller.

What kind of lighting?

Hello Greg and welcome to AC! don't ever be embarrassed to ask questions, thats how we all learn, and the folks here are very helpful! i'd say 99.5% of what i've learned about keeping my finkids has been from this forum.

now to address some of your questions:

the canister filter doesn't go inside your tank, it sits below it and uses flexible tubing to carry the water out of the tank, and back to the tank after it's run through the filter. this is applicable for both fresh and saltwater tanks.

most heaters look like a long glass tube that is closed and rounded on one end and if the glass is clear you can see a metal coil thing inside. the dial for adjusting the temperature is on the top, where the cord attaches.

the plastic balls in your sump are called bio balls, and they are great for housing the beneficial bacteria your tank needs to keep the water healthy for your fish, corals, inverts, etc. there is a sticky thread somewhere here that will help you with all the cycling information.

as Wycco mentioned, it might be good if you could take photos of all your equipment so we have a visual of what you are working with, that will help us help you set everything up.

as for the UV sterilizer, i have no experience with those, but for the most part fishkeepers i know don't use them. I'm a freshwater gal, not a salty, but a lot of the practices of fishkeeping are the same for both types of tanks.

Pics would definately help. The "heater" you describe definately doesn't sound like any heater I have seen.

On to the equipment.. pretty much most of it will need to be tossed out because it isn't going to be good equipment for a "reef" tank. It would be ok for a fish only tank, but if you want corals then that is a whole different type of tank. Not trying to be negative about it, just truthful.

Canister filter = bad for reef
Bio-Balls = bad for reef
UV Sterilizer = debatable, but IMO I wouldn't run one on a reef tank. Many opinions on this though.
Lighting = bad (probably won't work at all) for a reef on a 150G tank, even softies.

So, question, is your tank drilled with an overflow box? If not, I would probably stop right now and either look into getting the tank drilled or get a new tank if your plan is to make it a reef tank. If you choose to go Fish only, then your equipment is fine. I am saying this to give you the best advice for long term success.. ya, you could probably get the tank up and running as it is now, but I feel you will be constantly fighting your tank just to keep it "stable" and that doesn't make the hobby enjoyable.

Best advice, do it right the first time. Many of us, myself definately included, spent many years doing things the wrong way and learning lessons the hard way, even when people would give me the same advice I am giving you. I thought.. These people giving advice are nuts, no way I am going to spend $3000 on a 29G reef tank... (I ended up spending $15,000 on the tank because I didn't listen to good advice early on!). Let me tell you, I learned my lesson the hard way many times over. That cheap "Jebo" light on ebay that cost less than 1/2 of a name brand light.. well.. when it dies in less than a year, no support, and you lose 1/2 your corals because you don't have the $ right then to buy a whole new light and the company won't honor thier warranty, things get very expensive very quick and your left kicking yourself saying "Why didn't I spend $400 on a good light fixture vs $150, now I have lost $1000 in corals because I tried to go cheap on my light". I can say the same thing for all kinds of equipment, pumps, powerheads, heaters, skimmers.. you can go cheap and get nothing for your $100 or spend $200 and get something that actually does what it states.

Just a ball park figure but I would guess on a 150G "Reef" tank you could easily spend $10,000 to get it looking good with good equipment. I spend $7500 on my 75G last year just for the tank and equipment. Another $5000 easily on corals and fish after that. I helped setup a 400G reef tank at my LFS and the final bill to get it all up and running with proper equipment came out to just under $90,000 which included livestock (about $50,000 was just in corals). The actual aquarium is usually the cheapest part of the entire setup.