@Esedess In my experience salt water isn’t way more work. I found it easier to maintain honestly. I think the “SO MUCH WORK” thing stems from this. In my experience working at the fish stores I found very few people who were actually willing to do their research. They wanted to just walk into the store and buy everything and go home that day with fish. Patience is key with aquariums. So when you buy a $2 fw fish, unfortunately a lot of people are of the mentality of “oh well, I’ll just get another”. When it’s a $30 sw fish that dies, the “I’ll get another” mentality wears down quick, then people get frustrated and quit.
The expensive part I referred to with FW is indeed the CO2 injection systems as well as some other nutrient drip systems that are required for some plants. Lights are the other big cost factor, but lighting needs would obviously depend on the plants chosen, some plants can get by with very basic lighting. Though I can’t foresee you having any issues with the light you have.
As far as the rest of your equipment goes, I think you’re good to go for either fresh or salt. The only thing I would recommend is picking up a few powerheads to create more circulation in the tank.
When it comes down to it, the only real difference between maintaining a basic sw/fw tank (I’m excluding the extra requirements needed for some plants/coral) is that when you do your water changes, you need to mix salt into the bucket first. Aside from that, it’s all pretty similar.
One final consideration that applies to both sw and fw; NEVER make an impulse buy. Yea, that fish or plant at the store can look totally amazing but refrain from buying it, go home, research the fuck out of it, and if you decide you can keep it, go back and buy it. Following this advice will save you more headaches than you can imagine(as well as a lot of money)
^Speaking from my own stupid experience with aquariums :P