# Freshwater tank that looks like Saltwater?



## big.b00 (Apr 27, 2011)

I am not new to Fishkeeping and aquariums but I am not sure how I can accomplish this Idea I have. 

I have a brand new 3g eclipse tank a friend gave me. 
I would like to make a Saltwater looking Freshwater tank for my Work desk. 
I want to have light colored sand and seashells in it.. and some Fake silk / plastic ocean-like plants & a fake ( but realistic ) coral piece.
I MIGHT add a few Trumpet snails as the ONLY live things in there. 
The reason for this is I want a ocean like tank as a tranquil water feature for work. I cannot have anything larger and they shy away from living things that need feeding ( because of holidays, long weekends, sick days etc ) 

My question is has anyone done this? 
What things should I buy? 
How should I prepair seashells, Driftwood & such if I'm not worried about fish?
I know seashells are not good for PH but that isn't really a problem because I have no fish and have a PH neutralizing powder.
How would you aquascape this idea?

I've tried to help myself by googling this question & looking at forums. I look at freshwater forums and they talk about live plants. I go on saltwater forums and they talk about reefs and saltwater things.

Thanks in Advance for your Help!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Well, if there isnt really going to be any live things in there but maybe snails,they have some sand found at dollar stores(dollar tree)and sea shells found at Hobby Lobby.They may have some dried coral pieces there as well, but I forget.Should be kinda simple to accomplish.

Look for things like these:
DollarDealShopping.com. bag of shells
Bulk Assorted Seashells in Rattan Baskets at DollarTree.com
Bulk Decorator's Choice White Craft Sand at DollarTree.com


They have other things that you may can find that will work as well.Just be sure to wash 
everything well before adding anything,even snails.Also,if theres going to be any living thing in there a filter will be beneficial too.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

You will still probably have to feed snails since you won't have anything living in your tank. (Trumpet snails burrow under the substrate and clean all the left over food and stuff like that). Since you have no other animals in there, there won't really be any food for them to eat...... I'm not sure what a good supplement for them would be....... I'm sure someone on the site or your LFS people could advise you on that.

Maybe an algae eating snail would be better, as it will keep your tank from becoming covered in algae. (Not sure if they need a filter - you will have to research that). That way, all you have to do is drop in an algae wafer once or twice a week as a supplementary feeding.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Interesting idea, post pics if you do it. 

Have you considered planted instead? I have a 1 gallon jar on my windowsill planted with vals and it looks really pretty. I put garden soil in the bottom topped with sand. A couple of ramshorn snails and a bladder snail got in on the plants and I enjoyed watching them grow and have babies, now there are so many I pull some out from time to time to put in my large tank where they get eaten. The plants and snails are very happy and the snails keep it algae free. I give the snails a flake of food every week or so but I don't think they really need it.

Marimo balls might go nicely with the salt water theme. If it had a plant or two and was well established a couple of ghost shrimp might do well. Red ramshorn snails are hardy and quite pretty.


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