This Man Spent £20,000 Turning His House Into A Giant Aquarium

While here at Kraken Corals we’re passionate about giving you the best home fish tanks and marine accessories on the market, this man has taken his love for fish to a whole new level in his home…

Jack Heathcote, 47, has completely transformed his house with an enormous network of nine ‘super’ fish tanks—including one in his cellar that is 7ft deep.

His inspiration? He doesn’t like TV, and would much rather watch his pet fish swim about in his larger than life aquarium than see what’s on the box on an evening.

“I can watch them for hours interacting with each other,” said Jack, “it’s very relaxing.”

Jack’s fascination with aquariums and marine accessories started when he was just 10 years old. He visited an aquarium in Blackpool and came home with a pet goldfish that he treasured. Little did he know that was just the beginning…

Jump forward 37 years and Jack now essentially lives in a huge aquarium with countless fish for friends.

But it came at a cost. Jack forked out a whopping £20,000 for the home conversion in Nottingham, using three walls of his cellar to create a 14ft x 12ft tank that’s 7ft deep and holds almost 5,000 gallons of water.

There are two more tanks in the cellar, more in the living room, the hallway, and the shed—and upstairs there are a couple of tanks in Jack’s bedroom, too, connected by an aquarium tunnel.

This might seem unusual to most folk, but Jack couldn’t be happier with his giant fish tank home and unusual pets.

“Fish aren’t like other animals because they’re always on the move,” Jack said. "My friends think they are great. They often join me on the sofa to watch them, like other people would watch TV."

And it doesn’t stop there. A Japanese company has created a bespoke portable fish tank, a Katsugyo bag, for Jack, so he can even take his fish out and about if he fancies.

"It is divided into two units of the body, and when you put in fish, you can remove the aquarium, store the fish, then connect it to the main body and turn on the power,” the company explains. "You can carry the fish, so it is relatively easy to use. Oxygen supply and water temperature maintenance are possible."

While we’re full of admiration for Jack’s creativity and innovation, we might need to scale down our aquarium fish tank and marine accessories support…

If you’re looking to get a more typical sized fish tank for a pet betta fish, then here are a few tips about getting your aquarium size just right:

1. The aquarium size for a betta should be at least five gallons—but double that is even better. The more water there is, the easier it is to balance, as the larger volume gives you a larger buffer.
2. It’s much easier to maintain good water quality in a larger tank, and the extra space means you can include plants and decorations for your betta to explore. Marine accessories with caves and hiding places are ideal.
3. Make sure there is enough open water surface area, as this is where your betta will breathe and feed.
4. Don’t forget—keep the tank in an area where it is dark at night.

Check out our range of aquariums and fish tanks today.