Good news! You do not have a sub-par camera. Well maybe 1 under par if you shoot from the pro tees. Better yet, your problem should be relatively easy to fix if you take a little time to learn how to harness your camera's potential.
In an automatic mode, your camera looks at your tank and gauges the brightness levels before determining what exposure settings would fit best. This is called *metering*. If the camera is picking settings that are too bright, you can:
A) Tell the camera to make it darker without leaving automatic mode by changing where the needle falls in the "-2..-1..0..1..2" scale. You should be able to see this scale in your viewfinder or a live view mode. Your needle was set at "0" but if it was set 2/3 of a stop lower (between -1 and 0) you would have had a darker image.
B) Get out of automatic mode and take control yourself. This ability sets your camera apart from most on the market. Set the camera to "M" and pick the same exposure settings automatic mode picked. These settings are broken down as Shutter Speed (how long the image is captured), Aperture (how much light the camera lets in via changing the width of the lens), and ISO (how sensitive your digital film is to the light that gets through).
Your settings were as follows:
Shutter speed
1/30 of a second (This is relatively slow, and is probably the aspect we will want to change)
Aperture
f/2 (This is very wide, wider than most camera are capable)
ISO
?unknown? but there was a value. Probably 100 (base)
Set your camera to "M" and select 1/30 for your shutter speed and f/2 for your aperture. Take a photo of the same area of your tank. Chances are you will replicate your problems. Change the shutter speed from 1/30 to 1/60, and the tank may become too dark. Play around with the shutter speed until the image is "just right", and there you have it.
Dig our your owner's manual to learn how to change these settings. Don't stop there, read up on shutter speed, aperture, and ISO online. Figure out exactly what they are and why and image will be different with varying combinations. Your photography will really improve.
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