How much light for 55g tank/ Convicts

dgalmo

Hello all. I have a 55g tank, 36" wide, with 4 convicts. No plants. I need a light and was looking into putting 1) a 10k light, 2) an actinic light. One thing I definately want is to be able to put the 2 different lights on different timers.

I could buy a coralife 36" single strip for the 10k and another 36" single strip for the actinic and put them on different timers but these are low watt lights at about 21 watts each. I've looked at the HO t-5's, with a current USA nova extreme having a 39watt 10k and a 39watt actinic in the same fixture, but I cant put each light on a seperate timer if I do that. I cant find a 39watt single strip fixture.

Since I have no plants I know I dont need a ton of light, but will a 21 watt 10k be enough for good viewing or would 39watts or 78 watts be better for viewing purposes?

Tyyrlym

I had two 20W T8 fluorescent 24" inch lights over my 55 gallon, it was plenty bright.

iamntbatman

You could always build yourself a simple DIY wooden canopy and get two single-bulb strip lights. Put a 10,000K bulb in one and the actinic in the other and put them on separate timers. If they don't sell the actinic bulbs at a DIY store like Home Depot, they'll definitely have them at an aquarium store.

WisFish

I had the same setup that TYYRLUM mentioned. In fact, many hoods come with that setup. It's bright enough if you're not growing plants.

dgalmo

thanks everyone

I'll just buy two coralight single strips. I've already made a custom hood and can just set these accross the tank top inside the hood or mount them to the underneath of the hood.

I'll post pics when I'm done. Thanks again everyone.