A saltwater aquarium setup is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successfully setup saltwater aquarium you will have to work at it. On a daily basis you will need to feed your saltwater fish and monitor the water parameters (temperature, nitrates, etc) and some of the Aquarium Equipment. Once a week, or at most once every month, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on your aquarium. Most of the time you will be performing water changes and water quality testing.

Cost is a very serious factor. Take the list above and research the prices of the various equipment needed to setup a saltwater fish tank. You will soon realize that a saltwater aquarium can cost significantly more to purchase than a freshwater aquarium setup. Not to mention that saltwater fish are usually more expensive that their freshwater counterparts.

You also need to understand that setting up a saltwater aquarium takes time. It often takes 4 to 8 weeks before you can add any marine fish safely to your marine aquarium setup.