55G One Light or Two?

[RichNJ]

I have a 55g aqueon tank with the separator bar.  The tank is planted well with swords and crypts.  We bought it as a kit with two lids.  The lights in one lid just blew out.  I’ll probably replace both sides with two 48” versatop lids.

Looking for thoughts on replacement lights.  One 48” or two 24”?  What do you all think?   Would the separator bar create shadows if we did a single 48”?  

[KBOzzie59]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:39 PM, RichNJ said:

One 48” or two 24”?

I'd probably go with 2 to have some redundancy in case one quits working.

On 10/15/2022 at 6:39 PM, RichNJ said:

Would the separator bar create shadows if we did a single 48”?  

Probably a slight shadow but in my opinion not enough of a shadow to be bothered by.

[itsfoxtail]

I would personally go for one light across the entire thing. I have a 48 incher on mine and I love it! Maybe it's just a personal aesthetics thing but I think it looks way cleaner and more streamlined with just one. The middle brace doesn't create any sort of shadow in my experience either. If the light blows you're kind of screwed until you can get a new one, but personally I think the risk is worth it.

[RichNJ]

On 10/15/2022 at 10:09 PM, itsfoxtail said:

I would personally go for one light across the entire thing. I have a 48 incher on mine and I love it! Maybe it's just a personal aesthetics thing but I think it looks way cleaner and more streamlined with just one. The middle brace doesn't create any sort of shadow in my experience either. If the light blows you're kind of screwed until you can get a new one, but personally I think the risk is worth it.

If using a single 48, Does the middle brace heat up much from the light?  Was thinking about it melting or buckling? 

[itsfoxtail]

On 10/16/2022 at 8:53 AM, RichNJ said:

If using a single 48, Does the middle brace heat up much from the light?  Was thinking about it melting or buckling? 

I use an LED light so it really puts off minimal heat to begin with and the middle brace doesn't feel warm to the touch at all. Plus, LEDs save you a ton of money on the overall energy costs!