At that volume, it's probably may be practical to run the water through a dedicated water heater, but you may need to look into a lining to prevent long-term salt corrosion. You'll also need to use different pipes; metal pipes will corrode to the salt and release metals into the water, poisoning the animals. Talk with a heating mechanic for specifics on those points. You will also probably need to adjust how hot the heater runs.
After the water heater, the water could be pumped as normal into a filtration area (sump) or back into the main tank
You wouldn't need to heat a saltwater aquarium because they are probably used to the coldness. Whatever, buy 6-10 heaters that have the highest watt possible or put your fish in a room and make sure that room has sunlight or is a heated room.
saltwater aquarium setup
Working on the 3watts per gallon rule of rough estimate you require 3000-6000watts or 3-6kw.
The heater below is a 3kw version of a pair of 1kw heaters I use in a 300gallon tank (I prefer 2 heaters in case one packs in)
For a tank that size, the best and cheapest advice is to heat the room the tank is in rather than the water. The more insulation the room has the cheaper it gets.
In conclusion, your problem not solved. You probably need to contact an Industrial Process Control company and ask about inline stainless steel water heaters and a controller to suit.
Setting up a saltwater tank could cost as much as three times as much as a saltwater tank. You would also have to get much less fish, and requires much more diligence than a freshwater tank. So I would recommend getting the freshwater. :)
As for setting up your aquarium, I would say:
-Get a tank that's at least 15 gallons (55 liters). Getting a smaller tank requires more work, and ultimately you have less of a choice of fish. Really, I'd say getting a 20 gallon long (75 liters) is your best beginner's bet.
-Research, research, research! Asking around on Yahoo! Answers is good for opinions on stocking, and advice and opinions on products, but the advice you can get on how to treat your fish, and what's the best way to do X in your aquarium, can vary so wildly, and most of it will be bad advice. Some of my favorite researching websites are:
The Aquarium Wiki (the best of the best)
Badman's Tropical Fish
Wikipedia
Aquaria Central
Livejournal community 1fish_2fish (if you're on livejournal)
-The very first thing you must research is the nitrogen cycle and what to do about it.
-The best way to figure out what fish you should have is to go to your local fish store and look at their fish. Decide which ones you like, and then go do research on them. Make certain to ask the staff questions, as well, not only for information about the fish, but also as a way to judge the quality of the fish store and its staff. Finding a good, reliable fish store is one of the keys to getting your healthy, clean aquarium.
saltwater aquarium setup
Welcome back to fish keeping. Fresh or salt big debate. Really there isn't much difference in the two.
First what fish do you like better? Fresh or Salt
Go to the store and look around or check out websites for ornamental fish and salt water fish Saltwaterfish.com and Freshwaterfish.com
What size tank are you planning or think of? Any tank can be a salt tank so it doesn't have to be "saltwater". For fresh water price will vary in accordance to where you live Tank, stand, hood w/lights, filter, heater, thermometer, siphon, test kit, gravel and decorations. The only other things you need for salt water are hydrometer and salt.
Even a salt tank under 40 gallons does not need a skimmer or live rock and unless you are planning on specialty reef inverts it doesn't need special lighting either. (Although you may want to check out the LED lights vs. other types).
Personally I find the salt water has a wider range of colorful and unique fish, eels and inverts that make great conversation pieces. Care is actually easier (you don't do weekly water changes here) and the fish don't get disease's nearly as much as fresh water. They also seem to have much longer life spans.
Everyone has their own type of "favorite" fish. I would check out the local fish stores as well as the two sites before you decide.
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