This was inspired by Clunksters talk of MTS.

If I was back on the family farm (and single!), I'd seriously consider a fish shack with something like one tank.

Dimensions:
Width 2 metre (~ 6 foot)
Length 4 metre (~ 12 foot)
Height 1 metre (~ 3 foot) (or more)

I'd do my South American thing again. Obviously bump up my fish population. But a bit more variety with the SuckerMouth Catfish (Plecs), and Cory's. A few more decent sized Tetra schools. A nice Angel group. And of course a few Dwarf Cichlid pairs.

Maintenance would probably have to take place whilst the water was down, during a change, but hopefully it'd consist mainly of plant trimming.

The lighting 'platform' is on a rig, that winds up (on a ratchet?), and swings out of the way. Likewise, I have a harness on a similiar rig, that allows me to 'hover' above the tank while I do my thing, without the need for SCUBA gear!

Now for all you 'city' folk, I'm not talking pure 'fantasy', it's fully acheivable. Tanks are easy. We already have that sort of rig and harness gear on the farm, used for lifting and moving equipment and farm produce. And I have the Shed, that I built when I was a kid (as an electronics workshop). (3x6x3 metre or so)

I'm doing the 'Homer drool', just thinking about it!

sounds like a decent setup to me but my dream tank would be the river amazon

Yeah, but wouldn't you have restrictions on being able to sit there and watch what's going on?

I'd imagine that for a fair portion of time, that water's not exactly clear.

When we used to hunt Carp in the irrigation channels as kids, they were visible only in winter, when there was no flow. In Summer, you'd be lucky if you could see an inch through the water. You had to hunt them by watching the surface eddies, and then only in shallow water.