How can i make a freshwater aquarium look like a saltwater aquarium

Question

I'm wanting to make a freshwater tank look like saltwater with sand and rock and other fake and some real plants any ideas of what sand to use or what live rock to use that's freshwater that may have some freshwater coral on it i need help on what fish to put in to make it look like salt aquarium i just know how hard it is to keep a salt tank that's why i'm staying with FW tank thanks for the help

Answer 1

Put salt water in it.

Answer 2

Ask an aquariium

Answer 3

The Clown Loach is a good choice - it has a distinct striped pattern and looks very much like a Marine fish. Pakistani (YoYo) Loaches are also very 'marine' looking.

Good luck!

Answer 4

If you just want the look of a saltwater tank in a freshwater tank, you can use sand as a substrate and decorate it with fake coral and anemone decorations, but you can't use live rock.  Live rock has organisms in it that can only live in salt water and would die and foul the water in a freshwater tank and kill the fish.  There are lots of very cool and interesting rubbery decorations you can get that look just like live anemones that move around in the water and everything that will look very cool in a freshwater tank, as well as sculpted fake coral decorations.  Just use those and get brightly colored cichlids, such as African cichlids and you will have a nice freshwater tank that looks just as cool as any marine tank.

Check out some of the decorations here:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/pe...

Or the fish here:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquar...

Here's a site on decorating your aquarium:

http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=aqua...

Answer 5

I have done the exact thing you are trying to do. what i did was buy some white marine sand, i'm not talking the sort that is really fine, it has to be larger grain sand so that the fish won't kick it up too much. it has to be REALLY well rinsed so that there is no dust floating round in the tank, and so that the fish can swim without causing too much turbulence on the sand. i found freshwater coral/living rock extremely hard to find and expensive so i simply bought some white rock that looked kind of like coral, it has holes and pits in, and i piled it up in the tank and surrounded it with unusual and interesting plants (the more unusual the plant, the more realistic it will look). i also invested in a new light tube, one that is very bright, with almost a white/blue looking shine rather than the more yellow lights that are commonly associated with freshwater tanks. the best fish for the tank are Malawi Cichlids which are fresh water and will require very little change from your current setup other than the temp will need to be a couple of degrees higher, between 27-29C. they are the most colourful freshwater fish in my opinion and the purple and yellow ones look great against the white background.

Answer 6

The sand is easy enough, and you can get base rock from any aquarium shop. I don't really think there is such a thing as "freshwater live rock," but if we're talking strictly about appearances, live rock looks like any other rock. Try to get some rock pieces that look a bit porous and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

I'm not aware of any corals that could survive in freshwater (nor do I think there would be any), but there are convincing faux coral decorations out there. Look around your local aquarium shops in the decorations, and you'll find a good piece here and there.

Finally, as for fish, you really have a lot of options. When most people think about saltwater fish, they're imagining a bunch of brightly-colored reef fish. Some of the African chiclids might work for the casual observer due to coloration (I apologize, but I have little experience keeping them, so I can't comment on compatability). No matter what you get, I don't think you'll ever be able to fool people who are skilled in identifying fish.

Answer 7

first off, no such thing as freshwater coral. dead corals and sea shells will raise the pH in a freshwater tank, test your water parameters. stick with freshwater-safe rocks available from any pet store.

you can use freshwater-safe white sand, available from any pet store (make sure it states that it is safe for freshwater, marine sand will, again, raise the pH in freshwater).

fish choices depend on personal choice and tank size. there aren't many freshwater fish that match the vivid colours of saltwater.

interestingly, next month there will be an article in the Practical Fishkeeping magazine next month  on how to set up a saltwater-a-like freshwater tank. Keep an out for it!

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk