Well, after planning a native tank for what seems like about a year I finally am doing one! This isn't going to be like that hypothetical 20 gallon I was going to do. I actually have the tank and stand that I got for free from a friend that's been out of the hobby for years. It's a 30 gallon long so the dimensions are 36" long by 12" wide by 16" tall. I'll have pictures of it below to prove I have it 
. Now me being the avid fisherman and local scuba diver that I am, I'd like to do fish(es) that I catch and/or can observe while diving. Now being that this is only a 30 long it rules out the majority of sport fish but there are still some I could do.
That being said, I'd like to do a Sunfish of some species and don't really have any interest (as of now) in doing minnows, darters, sticklebacks, etc. which IMO can be very skittish. To be even more specific, I'd like to do a Sunfish indigenous to my local lake since this is going to be a biotope for it. There are several species of sunfish in the lake that I and the PA fish commission are aware of. Now obviously we can rule out Bluegills, Largemouth Bass, and Black Crappie as options since they all obviously get to big. After getting rid of them as possibilities there are 3 species left that I think would do good in a 30 long: Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, or White Crappie. White Crappie may even be pushing it but I've never heard of many getting over 8" long. Same goes with Pumpkinseeds. I have a feeling that a Green would be my best choice considering they only get 6-8" on average, I know they can get 10-12" in aquaria but tell me the last time you've seen one that big. So pretty much just give me your say on which of those 3 sunfish you think would do the best in that tank, Greens would be the easiest to obtain, then Pumpkinseeds, and White Crappies even though there are tons of them are something you never see people catching at my lake and I've never caught any myself.
So lets talk about the specifics of the tank
Volume: 30 Gallons
Dimensions: 36"L x 12"W x 16"H
Substrate: tan/grey loose pea gravel
Filtration: (probably) Penguin 200
Lighting: 6-8 hours plus ambient sunlight
Temperature: 66-78 F
pH: 7.6
So what do you guys think about the stock and specs?
. Now me being the avid fisherman and local scuba diver that I am, I'd like to do fish(es) that I catch and/or can observe while diving. Now being that this is only a 30 long it rules out the majority of sport fish but there are still some I could do.That being said, I'd like to do a Sunfish of some species and don't really have any interest (as of now) in doing minnows, darters, sticklebacks, etc. which IMO can be very skittish. To be even more specific, I'd like to do a Sunfish indigenous to my local lake since this is going to be a biotope for it. There are several species of sunfish in the lake that I and the PA fish commission are aware of. Now obviously we can rule out Bluegills, Largemouth Bass, and Black Crappie as options since they all obviously get to big. After getting rid of them as possibilities there are 3 species left that I think would do good in a 30 long: Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, or White Crappie. White Crappie may even be pushing it but I've never heard of many getting over 8" long. Same goes with Pumpkinseeds. I have a feeling that a Green would be my best choice considering they only get 6-8" on average, I know they can get 10-12" in aquaria but tell me the last time you've seen one that big. So pretty much just give me your say on which of those 3 sunfish you think would do the best in that tank, Greens would be the easiest to obtain, then Pumpkinseeds, and White Crappies even though there are tons of them are something you never see people catching at my lake and I've never caught any myself.
So lets talk about the specifics of the tank
Volume: 30 Gallons
Dimensions: 36"L x 12"W x 16"H
Substrate: tan/grey loose pea gravel
Filtration: (probably) Penguin 200
Lighting: 6-8 hours plus ambient sunlight
Temperature: 66-78 F
pH: 7.6
So what do you guys think about the stock and specs?
