starting a cold marine tank ?

[errorcode303]

Hi, I live in Rhode Island and i have easy access to the ocean, so i was thinking about starting a 55g cold marine tank. will a cold tank be easyer to maintain? as of now i have 3 bag of carib sea live sand in the tank right now (60lbs) and i have a ebo heater, jebo 220w light. prizm deluxe skimmer and a powerhead water pump. i have the heater on so the tank is not "cold"

i dont have time to start my "dream tropical tank" right now and i dont want to leave my setup abandon too. so i went to the ocean and got like 50 snails and other living things for my tank. the snails are doing good however, the RI snails likes to stay above water most of the time and only get down water to feed algae. any other creatures you guys will recommand for my tank? oyesters? clams? i dont have time to feed the creatures but i have the light setup for 10 hours a day.

if i turn the heater off will it kill the live sand?

[ab5ebdxer]

I think if you turn your heater off and the water gets cold you might run into problems with your sand bed. I dont think you will be able to keep the water as cold as it is in the Atlantic. My guess is your house temp is around 70 degrees and the water should be close to that temp. If you really want to keep it cold then you would need a chiller. I would say take it slow and work on a reef tank.