Good evening gents and ladies, I'm Jacob, 36 and from Manchester, England. (Sounds like a tv gameshow)
I've long been interested in keeping fish but coming from a large family and getting married young this passion was only something I could start to indulge in my mid 20's with a 180litre tropical set up with a low tech planting scheme. I kept at this for nearly 6 years keeping a whole host of Amazonian type fish and this gave me and my family great joy. Maintenance was a chore but when isn't it and eventually due to losing a bit of interest and being heavily focussed on setting up my business I sold the equipment and went out of the hobby for about 6 years.
A couple of years ago I bought a house that needed a complete refurbishment and it was always in the plans from day one to build a marine tank through the wall in the morning room and siting the tankmin the lounge. Knowing precisely aero about marine tanks I got in touch with a local chap who helped me set the tank up. What I have now is a 670litre 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank with a small sump beneath containing a skimmer, ozone, reactor containing rowaphos and carbon and a Vecton 600 UV plus ATO etc.
Slowly slowly I've been building up my knowledge and stock levels and I'm pretty much at capacity I feel.
However the more I research, the more I find that I was advised in to quite a low tech set up with no scalability as the sump is so small. Before I fully furnished the lounge where the tank is a, I feel it prudent to consider my long term plans and make the necessary changes now before it is too late.
So, despite huge amounts of dissatisfaction from the missus I'm planning to double the length to12 feet and go taller to 30" and deeper in part to 30" possibly 36 " where it goes through the wall and 30" deep for the extended bit within the room itself.
The idea is to create a system supported by a huge sump, a massively oversized skimmer ozone big UV lots of bio bricks, wet dry trickle filter and bio pellets to eventually create a very low maintenance reef. Initially I will go fish only but later when funds permit upgrade the lighting for corals.
Principally my question is am I mad? The room can handle it. It's 18feet wide and 28feet long and the 30" high by 12 ft long wall of marine beauty will be sensational but will I end up regretting this?
Thoughts on a postcard would be much obliged. Someone (very experienced and knowledgeable) has offered to lend all their expertees and design and build the sump etc but has asked for quite a lot of money. Around £5k exc materials so I'm really unsure whether to use them or just do my own research and go for it...
Some pics below of the tank now and the proposed design and I look forward to being an active contributor.
Thanks guys and gals.
Jacob.
Proposal. The tank will be 2250 litres exc the sump which will probably be at least 500 so a big system.
