Pointers and/or advice on *low tech* marine tanks?

Lee,

When you started in freshwater did you start with a planted tank?

The reason I asked is because you might wish to consider starting
with a FOWLR system (fish only with live rock). This is a marine
tank, just not a full fledged REEF tank. They seem much less
intensive than a full reef.. I've been going about two years and am
just now starting down the reef road.

START MY 2 CENTS:
IMO, you can learn a lot without a major investment. Simple hang on
filter, maybe an airstone powered in-tank skimmer, live sand, live
rock, and some damsel fish and clowns. At $4 to $9 a pound your live
rock will probably be the most expensive item in the tank. If you
mess up your only out a few inexpensive, but colorful, fish. Mess up
badly and your out the life on your live rock too (but that can be
probably be reseeded). Your not out a group of expensive corals.
Another plus is you can slowly build up your equipment as you go
without doing it all at once.

Getting your coralline growing and growing well in a less complicated
fowlr system should be one sign of a healthy tank. Also, later on you
can put some pulsing zenia (not very expensive, but cool to watch, and
grows like crazy in good conditions) in the tank. I have been told
that zenia are a great barometer of your water quality and overall
tank health. If you can keep them growing and multiplying then you
are about ready for the reef. Some LFS will even take them in trade
for store credit.
2 CENTS METER EXPIRED

There are pluses for starting out this way. There are pluses for
starting out with a full reef or nano-reef (be sure to check out
www.garf.org ). It will ultimately be what your comfortable with.
Hell, my daddy taught me to swim by throwing me in the deep end of a
stock tank. And I learned to swim real fast. The only real problem I
had was getting out of the burlap sack.

Merry Christmas,
Mike