I guess it's a strip light. The right one on my 55 won't come on. I thought it was a blown bulb, so I changed bulb. Then it would flicker for 30 minutes, changed the bulb again and now it won't come on at ALL. I've taken the entire light apart, tightened everything and nothing happens at all now.

Should I just buy a new light, or are there any handy people who can tell me how to fix it? The tank looks funny since only half of it is lit....

Maybe it's the starter, the little silvery tube thing beside the bulb. Im no expert but I did do a bit of electrical shop in HS. Mine is actually doing the same thing (now it wont turn on) in my 20g tank, and I've been meaning to figure out what's wrong.

How do I get the three bulbs that are messed up? Gr!

Is there any way that I can fix it myself? I don't really want to have to buy three more bulbs...

my bulb on my 20 gallon didnt turn on awhile ago, all I did was take it out wiped the bulb dry and screw it in tighter and that fixed the problem. How tight did u put the bulb in?

When the light is just flickering (or ALMOST starting up, but not quite), even with new bulbs, your ballast or starter is almost certainly bad. As Jule mentioned, make sure that BOTH bulbs are making good contact with the sockets as this can also cause the bulb not to start. If your light uses a magnetic ballast, than there will be a small aluminum cylinder inside your lighting strip called a "starter". Starters are usually located somewhere in the fixture that allows for easy replacement, and are only a dollar or so at the hardware store.

If your light uses an electronic ballast, there won't be a starter and this means that the ballast is bad. You COULD install a new ballast, but it is a lot easier (and usually only somewhat more expensive) to buy a new light fixture. If you choose to replace the ballast, make note of the specs of the one in your light, and go to a lighting store or a store with a lighting department to find a new one. It can be a bit difficult to do the wiring, but it is doable. I have successfully transplanted a ballast from one tank light (with magnetic ballast & starter) to an other (whose electronic ballast was fried and ate a new bulb before we discovered the ballast was bad).

I have no idea if it's magnetic or electric. I took some pictures ( I also took it apart again) which might not help, but there they are:
The whole kit n' kaboodle


Starter do-hickey


Thingamabob


The other light works just fine.

Well, you're mostly in luck because you have a magnetic ballast! Try replacing the starter and seeing if the light will turn on.

Where can I find a starter? Can I find it in pretty much any electrical dept.?

Whoo!!! :woot:

It works now! Thank you Joy and Peonguin and Michael and Shamu!!!

I'm glad you got it working! did you go and get a new starter, then?

Yep! There were two in the package, so I saved the other one in case one of my other lights go on the fritz (most likely the other 55 light)