lighting

[TankBoss]

I have two 24 in fluorescent, single tube, light strips on my 55 gal tank. Can I get more and better light just by getting better tubes or will I need more power? Not sure atm what light bulbs I have.

 

[happygirl65]

You can get better lighting from full spectrum bulbs but unless you have live plants you may be growing tons of algae if you increase your light.

The standard 55 comes with two 20 inch bulbs I think...Normal Output flourescents (at least mine did) and it had a total of 30 watts over the tank. Not much light, pretty dim actually so I get what you are trying to do. If you are NOT wanting a planted tank but just wanting a brighter tank you can get new lights but keep it under 1 watt per gallon. Otherwise...if you love a bright tank then look into planting it, a 55 is a great size for planting all kinds of stuff. You could get a fixture that is 2 x65w power compact and it will give you about 1.7 wpg which is a good low light level where you can keep it low tech, not dosing much fert, using root tabs and no CO2 and you can keep a variety of crypts, annubias, mosses, amazon swords, hygro, and it makes a nice bright jungle of a tank.
Whatever you decided good luck.
Some more specific questions will lead to some more helpful answers as well.

Good luck with your tank...would love to see pics.

 

[TankBoss]

Thanks for the input. No plants... My tank is heavily stocked with cichlids and I'm very happy just having them in rock and sand.
I definitely don't want the lights to cause any algae growth... I just want it as bright as I can have it.
My tubes are aging but still working fine and at this point I'm trying to think of ways to make it look nicer without spending much money as I am already way over budget. I do think, however, that the build up on my tubes and the glass under them could be filtering out some light.

 

[happygirl65]

buildup on the glass and tubes will definitely dim things out. A good cleaning will take some elbow grease but is free, a rag soaked in vinegar should help take the calcium deposits off. You may have to leave it sit on them for a while...I would probably buy new bulbs and clean the glass top.
Beautiful tank pic....WOW!