niddy,
You can try a few things to get overall cage temps up. You can try using a 25-watt or 40-watt bulb in a dome reflector placed on top. I would position it more towards the center of the setup, maybe a tad more towards the hot end. If this doesn't get the temps up enough you can try covering part of the top with a folded plastic garbage bag, piece of cardboard, etc... Just don't cover the very end of either the hot side or cool side, the ends are vital in creating a good thermal gradient (air is pulled into the tank from the heat of the lamp(s) on the hot end and forced out the top of the cool end).

I hope I'm not too late with this input.
When getting a UVB fluorescent light for a setup you need to first consider where or how it will be installed on/in your setup.

55-gal tanks are 4ft long and aprox 20-inches high. If the UVB fixture will be placed on top of the tank that means that nothing less than a 10.0 rated UVB bulb will provide the strength needed for a beadie to get enough UVB rays from the bottom of the tank, which should be your goal, not the distance to a basking limb or rock, but all the way to the cage floor.

A 4ft fixture won't fit inside the tank so it will have to be placed on top. A 3ft fixture will fit inside the tank & still cover the recommended area for maixmum useable rays. There can be mounting problems with inside the cage fixtures for tanks. Usually small chain & hooks can be used but sometimes pose a problem with the screen top closing.

By using an inside the cage UVB light fixture, you can use a lower rated bulb, adjusting the height of the fixture to specs. I'm pretty sure UVB bulbs are priced according to strength.

BDlvr can most likely fill ya in on the recommended distances for each bulb rating (5.0, 7.0, 10.0). There's a chart or two online somewhere, I just don't have it handy at the moment.

Catch ya'll later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

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