30 G Help...

I've got my 30 gallon tank set up the only thing I need to do is get lighting. I want to get something that looks nice and I dont mind paying. I really like the look of the lighting in planted tanks...what are those using?

My current fish are - 1 Tiger Oscar - huge
2 clown loach
1 goldfish

Hi Brad...
You probably are not gonna like hearing much from me...
but first of all...let's address your ?
Paying more money for lighting does not always mean better quality.
For a planted tank..you can find good flouresecent light strip at Menards that are made especially for planted tanks. If it is the brightness you like..there are various wattage. BUT..and here is the big "BUT"..
IF you are planning to have a planted tank with a Oscar.. it just isn't going to work.
Your Oscar is going to destroy any live plants.
Second..and this is a big issue here...the SIZE of this tank for an Oscar is way too small.
That Oscar is going to grow to at least a foot..and it needs room to turn around. You are going to have huge problems if it does not have at least a 55 gal. tank..or larger!!
Oscars are "poop" machines...so unless you plan on cleaning the tank DAILY..your nitrAtes will soar sky high.
Also..the other fish...soon they will end up dinner. Oscars will EAT anything they can fit into their mouths.
I don't mean to be negative..
but this is why is it important to do research before purchasing.
Your Oscar is gonna be one UNhappy camper.

My Oscar is 3 years old...it is about 11 inches.
I keep it well fed in order to keep it from eating the other fish. I do not want to plant the tank, I just like the look of the lighting. Maybe if you could give me a link or more information about obtaining it.

The oscar seems fine. Plenty of room for it. I can hand feed it, he will follow my hand from the outside of the tank. When the tank gets dirty, it knocks off the filter stem which makes an extrememly loud high pitch scream. This happened again last night at 3:00 am sharp....really wierd I know...but i think its really smart or something. Whenever the tank gets dirty it will without fail knock that stem thing off.

The only information I feel I can give you is as follows..
Before thinking about lighting..maybe you should consider a "larger" tank?
I debated whether to say this..
and I am sorry..but Brad..
that Oscar is not "fine".
Yeah..maybe it is still alive after these
3 yrs..but come on.
You wouldn't keep a St. Bernard in a
5 ft. X 5 ft. cage..why would you think having an 11 inch Oscar in a small 30 gal. w/ the "other" tank inhabitants is alright??
Sorry..It's abusive IMO.

Check this out... http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile16.html

I hate to say it because I feel bad and I believe that you have good intentions with your fish, but I have to agree with Diane. Your oscar really does need more room. We are not hear to criticize each other, but we are hear to help both the fish and the owner. The thirty gallon is fine for the goldfish. It is a little small for the clown loaches too, but they may be alright. I wouldn't put anything else in their though. You can find a 55 gallon tank pretty cheap on sites like craigslist and your oscar will be much happier with more room to swim.

I apologize for coming across harshly.
I think Megham shared our opinions on this matter more graciously than I did.
As she said..you can find nice used
55 gal. tanks ( or larger)..and not have to spend a fortune doing so. You would have a much healthier environment for your Oscar & the others. I DO hope you will take our advice.

Gotta agree with the girls on this one.

I had the opportunity to purchase a 50 gallon tank and stand for 50 bucks the other day...

the only catch? It came with 2 oscars. So I talked to my LFS guy about taking them... No deal... he already had 2 big ones out and 4 more in the back and I would've been 2nd on the list to get rid of those 2.

So I had to pass on the tank... which really sucks, cause I always need more tanks...

A 75 would rock for oscars, since it's so much deeper... from front to back, that'd give it a LOT more room to be sociable...

Plus! As an added bonus... If you already have it following you around from a 30 gallon... Your friends will think you're UBER cool with your fish following you the whole way down a 4' tank! LOL!

I had a buddy of mine kyle (manager of bakersfields Petco) come and pick it up last night to transfer into a stable 55 gallon. Spent the night fine and died this afternoon. Ill post pictures soon.
Grumpy Gus RIP

Awe gosh !!
Seriously Brad..
..I am sad to hear that!

OMG!

That is terrible!

I'm so sorry to hear this.

Oh no! I am so sorry. I applaud you for taking our advice and doing the right thing. The only thing I can think of that could have gone wrong is that despite stable aquarium parameters in the new tank, they could have still been so different from yours that they shocked poor Gus. Maybe you could get a sample of the water, test it, and then compare it to the parameters in your own tank. I would mostly be concerned about a radical difference in ph in this case.

Brad...
I am sure you are pretty bummed about losing your Oscar ...and we all feel for you.
If it is any consolation (or help in any way)...perhaps we can all put our heads together and see what could have possibly caused his death.

Oscars being a full-bodied fish..usually are quite "hardy"....
..but they can get ill just like any other fish. They just hide it well.

Can I ask ?..how did your friend acclimate Gus to his tank?
As Megham said ...if there was a vast difference in PH levels..it could have shocked him. But there would have to be a HUGE difference.
Say going from a 7.5 to an 8.0 or
vis= versa.. that wouldn't do it IMO. If you live in the same area...I would think the PH would be fairly the same.

The other thing that seems to stick out in my mind is that you said he was always banging the intake valve.
He either was doing so because of lack of room...poor water quality..or he could of had a bacterial infection...
(external parasites)..and was trying to rid them by rubbing his body against anything he could find.

There are just many factors that could of been at play..and sadly you may never know.
Fish keeping is always a learning experience. Even though I have been doing this for many years..I am still learning things also.
We all have times like these.
If we can learn from it though..then we all benefit.
It is just sad when you lose a fish you have grown so attached to.

You're right about the learning process. I've been thinking about adding a blog that focuses on mistakes we made and have learned (the hard way) how to avoid. It could be informative as well as funny.

The blog would be funny.

Who knows what went wrong...grumpy gus was very very hardy though.
One time I left the room and came in after I got off work and he was on the floor completely dry. I picked him up and threw him back in and he was fine! (I went and got a hood that day)
Thanks for the support though and like I said who knows what went wrong...the trasfer went fine he lived for 10-11 hours in the new tank.

Now that everything is said and done - back to my lighting issues.
I want the really bright lights haha
I was browsing around and saw this picture. I think its one of Jons tanks or something.
Anyways any advice for how I can achieve this look for lighting?
Maybe a website with prices and pictures and stuff?

Most of the on line aquarium shops have all sorts of lighting fixtures, and some even give you advice about selecting the right lighting for your aquarium. A number of low light plants are also available. Most of them grow slowly, but they don't require special lighting. If you're a good designer you can get a show quality aquarium with low light plants. On the other hand, the more exotic plants will require special lighting, a carbon dioxide system and a special substrate material. Some of the postings and blogs on this website have more information on the subject. In addition, a national organization, the Aquatic Gardeners Association, has a website at www.aquatic-gardeners.org.

I've never visited the website, but maybe I should. Most of my aquariums are much less than works of art.

Brad...
Here below are a few places to find good flourescent light strips.
Like I mentioned before..it is up to you what wattage...
or whether you want a single or double strip.

Big Al's http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl3664/cp17943/ cl0/fluorescentstriplight?viewType=Category

AquariumGuys http://www.aquariumguys.com/fixtures.html

Dr. Foster & Smith ( have some good sales at the moment too! http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_supplies.cfm?c=3578+3733