Freshwater tank that looks like Saltwater tank

[big.b00]

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? etc. etc.

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!

 

[IThinkTherefore]

First of all, pH neutralizing powder is terrible for your tank, so disregard that. Basically, fish or snails can adjust to most pH levels, but rapid swings can kill them very quickly.

Sea shells will slowly raise your pH and harden your water. If all you keep are snails, they'll love hard water! Those will be some happy malaysian trumpets .

You might have to toss in some algae tabs or fish food for the snails every once in a while.

Boiling shells and driftwood before they go in the tank will help get rid of salt and kill any pathogens they may be carrying. Beach driftwood may never fully lose all the salt it has absorbed, so it should go in with freshwater snails.


There are a ton of cool coral decorations available. I wouldn't recommend any green plants if you want to make it look like salt. White sand would be a good idea, and they make some really cool marine backgrounds you could stick on the back

Welcome to MFT! Your tank sounds like a lot of fun