Do saltwater aquariums smell bad?
Im thinking about getting a saltwater aquarium, do they smell bad?
No. You should only smell a slight ocean smell. Skim mate that is produced by protein skimmers smells bad but is usually kept closed up in the skimmer cup or an external waste container. DSBs (Deep Sand Beds) 6" and deeper can create hydrogen sulfide gas down deep over time. This is ok unless it gets disturbed. When that gas comes into contact with the salt water, it turns into acid, smells like rotten eggs and will kill any life in the tank.
If you leave live rock or live sand out of the water all of the life in and on it will die and it will smell bad.
The best place to learn about Saltwater Reefs and FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tanks is Reefcentral.com (RC). There is a forum for every aspect of marine tanks. Salt tanks are very different from fresh water tanks. In salt you must learn a lot, go very slowly and have a lot of patience. There are literaly many thousands of members on RC that can help you learn what you will need to know. It is a free forum with, Threads: 1,181,692, Posts: 11,384,803, Members: 237,341 and there are usually always 2 to 3 thousand members online all the time that can help you with any questions.