Lighting My 55 Gallon African Cichlid Tank

[supermrc2000]

I currently have a 55 gallon African cichlid tank and i am looking to get new bulbs for them. I don't know what I currently have in them. Unfortunately, they only hold a single florescent tube. At the moment I don't want to upgrade, so what would be the best bulb to replace the current ones with to get the most color out of my fish?
 
Thank you so much!

 

[Demeter32]

I can't really recommend any tube bulbs because I have little experience with them. All I can say is when I replaced the bulb in my ten gallon hood, I got one that's supposed to be good for plant growth and it really makes the fish's colors pop. Perhaps picking a bulb that's good for growing plants will help show the fish's colors. I have the original LED light strips in the hood of my 55 gallon Africans tank. The lights do well enough for me. Maybe you should try to find just the LED strips and tape them to the top of your hoods rather than buying a whole new lighting system. 

 

[ZoddyZod]

Cheap LED strips. You aren't growing plants so don't need the intensity of expensive tubes. I use them in a planted tank and I'm very happy with them.

 

[DrRob]

Yup, nothing too strong as you won't be able to grow plants, just algae. After that it depends what colour you like. I personally prefer a bluer light over a Malawi tank so prefer the 10k tubes. It's personal preference though really.