is a saltwater really that hard..

IMO, if your dream is some clown fish, then go salt water, its not that much harder IMO, than a freshwater tank, until you get into corals, then it becomes an issue. If ya wanna do salt, its' def more money up front, but I think the benefits of the fish being much cooler and prettier make it worth. Granted your $20-30 clown dying sucks alot more than a $2-5 freshwater fish, but I fins keeping saltwater fish alive alot easier than freshwater.

Whats your budget? But I'd start perusing craigslist and local ads for full setups. You should be able to find a 40g breeder with pumps and lights for $100 or so deopending on where you live. But to start you'll need;
tank, I'd do at least the 40g breeder, good tank, good dimensions and gives you some options on fish, $40 on petco's $1/gallon sales
dry rock and sand for a 40g tank about $90 from reefrocks.net
refractometer $25
salt I'd just get the bucket from drsfostersand smith.com $50
API test kit for nitrites, ammonia and nitrates $16
2 powerheads $20-40 each and a cheap one for mixing salt
heater or 2, don't go cheap here, about $30-50
water change syphon, $15
and a RODI unit $100-200
and a basic light, if you decide no corals, I'd look into a cheap led system.

But as others have said, go slow, a properly set up saltwater tank takes times, 4-8 weeks to cycle unless you use a product like MB7, but in your case, I'd do a normal cycle to give you time to learn and plan what you want with in your tank, this will also give you time to save some $$$

Personally I think you'll like the salt much better, the fish have much bigger personalities and are alot prettier, so are the invert options you'll have.

Good luck either way, and remember, do not trust the LFS, they're trying to make sales, always ask here first

 

Couldn't put it better myself

 

I agree with those that say if you want clown fish, don't waste your money for stuff you will need for freshwater, then later change to go salt, just go ahead and start salt. As some have stated if your thinking fish only with artificial decorations. then surely start with the salt water tank.
Reef is another story, but start with the fish only you will learn a lot about the hobby.

 

I agree with them if its what you want do it. Don't do like me and I am sure many others rush into it with my first tank I rushed into it spent a lot of unneeded money on stuff I didn't need or the wrong stuff or ended up replacing it with better stuff. I also started with freshwater that's what I was told to do and got sick of it pretty quick. Then spent more money to do what I wanted to begin with. Long story short figure out what you really want first then research till your eyes bleed.
On a positive note I love it and an still learning. Probably like 90% from here

 

I did FW for many years always wanting to do salt but being afraid of taking the plunge. I finally jumped into SW almost a year ago now and havnt looked back. I still have a FW tank that is sitting in a bedroom that I pay no attention to and am waiting to take down to turn into another reef.
FW is a pain in the rearend. First off, the fish die left and right for NO reason. Yea, you have your longer lived species, but all those little tetras, barbs, cory catfish, etc you look at have max lifespans of 1-3 years. Seems like you can have a perfect setup but the fish just do not live long and no matter what you buy they are going to be mainly gray/silver in color. SW fish on the other hand live 10-15 years or longer usually, and even the smaller species such as many wrasses seem to live 5 years or more in healthy tanks.
Also I find keeping water quality up is easier in SW than FW for some reason. My FW tanks always ended up with high nitrates overtime where my SW tank my nitrates started out low and dropped to near 0. I think it might have to do with SW liverock helping with denitrification where FW really does not have an effective means of nitrate reduction other than water changes.

If you want SW than just jump in. Remember to do research and reef up on forums. No impulse buys like mentioned above, KNOW what EVERYTHING is BEFORE you place it in the tank. Have a good camera to take pictures with since you will find all kinds of things you do not know what they are in your aquarium. Whatever you think you want, make sure your purchases dont limit you because it is addicitve and you will want MORE very soon.

A list for what you might need to start with
1) Obviously the tank and stand- the bigger the better for many reasons. Bigger tanks mean more water volume to hold fish and also more room for error, but are also mroe expensive. A 40gal breeder is a common size and good for starters as would be a 55gal. If money is not an issue than go big time and get a 220!!!
2) A solid heater- Many people like the titanium heaters, never used one myself but I have a Fluval E series and love it. Many people use 2 heaters as a precaution.
3) A couple good powerheads. If your on a budget than Koralia makes some really nice models for a price you cant beat. If money is no issue than EcoTech Vortech pumps are the topline and have remotes to adjsut flowrates and wavemakers.
4) Some sand (no gravel or crushed coral!!) and dry reef rock. 1-2 lbs per gallon will do, many good vendors to order from at a fraction of the price most lfs will charge
5) a good saltmix and HOB if not using a sump with filter sock

And that is it, sumps and fuges are not needs but helped. I will have a sump on my next reef but do not right now. Skimmers dont need to be run during cycling and depending on what you want are not always needed or even beneficial. I ran one for awhile and my soft corals did not like it so I removed it and have a happy mixed reef. A light is not needed during the cycle either and unless you do coral the stock lamp will work just fine. If you do want corals than lighting should be one of your biggest investments.

 

I never really put them together to think that one helped me with the other... To me Saltwater and Freshwater are well like they are, Two different things.

If you got the time, and money and dedication with your research, I would personally do Saltwater looking back. That being said, The largest tank you can afford will general be easier to run for you. It basically gives you more time to fix something, if something comes up.

 

15 years ago I started with a fw tank. Then about 7 years ago got into saltwater. The only thing common between the 2 is there is water and fish. But even those are very different. If you want a saltwater tank I say dont waste the money on a fw tank. As everyone else stated go slow, research, understand what is needed, and if you have a question ask. But ask your self first, Am I going to be dedicated to keeping a saltwater tank? They are time consuming and consume large quantities of money. And you are truely never done with it unless you try and get out of the hobby, but then you go through withdrawls and get another one. But on the upside the rewards generally out weigh the drawbacks of having a tank, especially when you get friends over and they start "oohing" and "aahing" at your tank.

 

i couldn't agree with cosmo more...

however if you are trying to get into it for not that much you could reduce this a little bit... (please i would still recommend everything he suggested) but a little bit of shortcuts would be to just buy water from a lfs.. to fill a breeder up w/ph balanced saltwater would cost about the same as a bucket of salt, then you wouldn't need the ro/di unit
also the test kit is a great thing to have and would strongly recommend it but the lfs should be able to check it for free as well don't go to pets mart or petco or a big box store go to a fish store to do this

40 gallon breeder is the best by far to start off with GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

keep in mind too you don't have to purchase everything at once.. just get the tank stand... then rock and water, then lights, and sand it doesn't hurt to make the initial purchases and setup take a couple months

 

Saltwater is a passion for most long term hobbyist.

I knew it was expensive and more difficult then other hobbies.

The point is you could not have stopped me from starting a SW tank. There was no doubt in my mind WHAT SO EVER.

Regarding this thread I have been reluctant to post because my view is opposing.

Honestly if you have to ask I would start with something simple and less expensive. Saves you the frustration and live stock loss of life.

 

Having a saltwater tank is easy IME but only IF you care about your tank, and have the ability to research.

I started with a 5.5gal fluval edge tank, had 2 clowns in it, gsp, small derasa clam, zoos, acans.

I had to top off with water every day(ATO system runs your about $80)

And i did about a 1gal wc every sunday, and cleaned the filter.

That was about it! Just enough food for the clowns, no over feeding.

Tank did great. But then i wanted to go bigger, and bigger,(5.5gal-20gal-75gal) and then it gets expensive, now again i am looking to go bigger 75gal to a 92gal corner tank. And i have a second tank(7.5gal nano tank)

Now today i just ordered my first SPS coral. So now it is going to get even more expensive!

I feel it is like this:
how hard/easy the hobby is directly relates to how much money you spend, and how much you research.

If you have a fully automated system you really dont have to do much.
If you research EVERYTHING before you do ANYTHING. You will be fine.

Start with a simple setup with a few fish. And as you progress research before you add any fish, find out everything you can before making decisions.