The importance of lighting?

[fishnet]

I inherited a 55 g tank that I've had set up for about 4 months. I seem to continue to have a cyanobacteria problem as well as no coralline algae growth. After doing a fair amount of research on SWF.com as well as other sites, I think my problem is lighting.
The tank (an "established" sw tank for 8+ years) only came with simple fluorescent lighting

. I figured it would be OK for a FO or a FOWLR tank, but I'm beginning to think that it is a huge part of my cyano problem as well as not really allowing for coralline algae growth. How important is the lighting for CA growth?
I realize everyone will suggest that I change to PC or MH lighting because it is better (and it is!), but I really want to know if the lighting is the likely culprit for my tank problems -- especially the total lack of coralline algae. Finally, I want to invest in the proper lighting, but given the prices, what is a good economical solution?

 

[birdy]

You can use simple NO (normal output flourescent lighting) on a FOWLR and have fantastic coralline algae growth. The important thing is to get the correct bulbs.
When going with NO lighting I prefer a two bulb fixture and using one bulb as a 10k daylight bulb and the other as a 03 Actinic, if you only have one bulb to work with then get a 50/50 bulb.
With proper bulbs the coralline will grow like mad.

 

[ithorian_r]

old bulbs can cause algae problems so make sure your bulbs are fairly new....

 

[acekjd83]

I have 4 NO bulbs over my 50g, and have great coralline growth and no cyano.
1 actinic
1 20000K
2 50/50
the ballasts are the cheapest fixtures that home depot had to offer in that size... 30 bucks for 2 double tube fixtures. had to assemble them and make power cords, but if you have any knowledge of basic wiring, its quick and cheaper than buying from LFS.

 

[brycewood]

I have two NO bulbs as well, great coraline growth on a LRO, no fish yet...
I've heard oceanic salt has higher calcium levels which may help.
I had brief problematic algae during cycling/set-up but it's all on the retreat and I am seeing more and more coraline consistantly.
I don't think it's your bulbs. I did see less "bad" algae after reducing my light cycle a bit though.

 

[rberhow]

As everyone has said, old bulbs (>1 yr old for normal flourescents) can lead to algae growth but another culprit of cyano can be not enough water flow. Might be something you want to look at. As for lights, we just got a set of 260 watt PC's off the great auction site for $120 shipped. They are a Jebo brand which isn't quite as popular but what the heck, the light bulbs alone would be around $80, so how could a person go wrong. Or atleast I hope.....

 

[fishnet]

Thanks for the insight. Yeah, I probably have too little water flow, plus I have no idea exactly how old the current lights are. I also have a second set of NO lights that I could use, so I might be able to have the 20,000K, actinic, 50/50 combo setup. I'll look into the cost of replacing the current bulbs versus going with a newer PC setup. Again, thanks.

 

[acekjd83]

also, since my lights are on two separate fixtures, i put the 50/50s on one, the others on the second, and put them on separate appliance timers. that way i can have the dawn and dusk effect with the blue lights for just an extra $15 (for timers).

they work just as well as the PC lights on my other tank, albeit with considerably more bulk... :thinking: