Best 48 Inch Aquarium Light for 55 Gallon Tank

48 Inch Aquarium Lights

48 inch aquarium lights are perfect for 55 gallon tanks. These tanks are 48 inches long and 13 inches wide. It is also possible to use a 48 inch aquarium light for a 40 gallon (long) fish tank as well as a 75 gallon and 90 gallon aquarium. Just bear in mind that the light will be more spread out in these larger tanks.

Aquarium lights are a great addition to any fish tank. 48 inch aquarium lights help to illuminate the inhabitants of the tank, making them visible and showcasing many of the bright colors of the fish. In addition, proper aquarium lighting provides vital light to photosynthetic plants and even coral in your aquarium.

The choice of lighting is dependent on a range of factors. It is important to balance your plant’s requirement for light, with the visual display desired and importantly also mirror the natural environment of your fish as closely as possible.

There are a range of 48 inch aquarium lights available on the market today. These vary in quality, type and functionality. To help you narrow down your search we have highlighted our favorite pieces for your consideration:

48 Inch Aquarium Light – Reviews

NICREW Classic LED 48 Inch Aquarium Light

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 5/5
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This 48 Inch LED Aquarium Light by NICREW is great. The light is bright but is also energy efficient. The light fixture itself is approximately 32 inches by 4 inches. It has adjustable metal brackets to help you fit it on an aquarium with length ranging from 36 inches to 48 inches. So if you ever decide to move from you 55 gallon tank it will also fit any tank ranging from 30 to 90 gallons!

The aquarium light has two modes:

White and Blue LEDs for daytime
Blue LEDs for nighttime

Overall, we love this product. It is simple, efficient and provides great value for money.

Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light, 48 to 60-Inch

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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The Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light is certainly at the top end of the market. This particular version is usable on aquariums from 48 inches to 60 inches in length.

The aquarium comes with a huge range of customization for those aquarists who will only accept the best. It comes in a sleek design, with functionality which includes:

6 different weather effects, including electrical storms!
24 hour lighting cycle, mimicking the different stages of natural daylight including sunrise, full daylight, sunset and moonlight
Wireless remote control, allowing you to control both the 48 inch aquarium lights and up to 3 wave pumps should you wish to add them to your LOOP system

The color spectrum has been enhanced to help ensure that your corals and fish look at their best. The system runs at 48 Watts and used a 12V power supply. It has 215 LEDs in total:

54 6500K white LEDs
54 445NM blue LEDs
48 460NM blue LEDs
35 8000K white LEDs
24 RGB LEDs

Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 48 to 60-Inch

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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If you have a freshwater tank, the Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus 48 inch aquarium light is worth considering. It is adjustable and suitable for freshwater aquariums up to 60 inches in length.

It has a sleek design, with functionality that includes:

6 preset color groups
12 dynamic effects including lightning and dusk
The ability to save up to 4 more custom color ranges
32 key, customizable wireless remote control

The system runs at 30 Watts and used a 12V power supply. It has 144 LEDs in total:

96 6500K white LEDs
48 RGB LEDs

Note: the product summary on Amazon appears to be incorrect. It talks about 6500K white LEDs and 445 Blue LEDs. This is the setup of the standard LED product (not the LED plus). If your’re interested in purchasing this product, scroll down on the product page to the more detailed description and you’ll see it matches up with our understanding of this product.

Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Light for Aquarium, 48 to 60-Inch

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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The Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED 48 inch aquarium light is similar in many ways to the LED Plus version. It is adjustable and suitable for freshwater aquariums up to 60 inches in length.

It has a sleek design, with functionality that includes:

3 fade modes for cloud cover effects
On/Off/Dimming of white and blue LEDs together or independently
2 lunar light modes
2 storm modes with lightning and cloud cover effects
Dusk mode for evening viewing

The system runs at 18 Watts and used a 12V power supply. It has 180 LEDs in total:

132 white LEDs
48 blue LEDs

Finnex Planted+ KLC 24/7, 46.5-48 inch Aquarium LED Light

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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The Finnex Planted+ 24/7, 46.5 to 48 inch Aquarium LED Light has a 24/7 feature. This transitions the color schemes from a warm sunrise, to full daylight, then to a peaceful sunset finally to a starry moonlight. One very interesting functionality is that ability to have either sunrise and sunset light on top of the aquarium! It is then possible to save custom aquarium lighting to go along with these effects!

This 48 inch aquarium light version includes:

4 customizable color schemes
Weather modes
Built in LED sensor and remote control

The system runs at 46 Watts and has 144 LEDs in total:

96 7K white LEDs
48 RGB LEDs

Bear in mind that although Finnex have added a moisture resistant LED coating, the light itself is not fully waterproof. Then again, most aquarium lights are not waterproof!

Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CRV Aquarium LED Light, 46.5-48 inch

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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The Finnex planted+ 24/7 CRV LED 48 inch aquarium light has a 24/7 mode as you would expect. This is fully customizable and includes sunrise & sunset. The CRV range includes True 660nm deep red LEDs. This spectrum maximizes photosynthesis – perfect for your planted aquarium!

This 48 inch aquarium light version also includes:

4 customizable memory slots
4 different weather modes including sunset and thunderstrom
Built in LED sensor and remote control

Finnex FL-48 Stingray 2 Aquarium LED Light, Blue Fish Moonlights, 46.5-48 Inch

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 45/5
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The Finnex FL-48 Stingray 2 48 inch Aquarium LED Light is really good at what it does. It is far from the most expensive 48 inch aquarium light on the market. And it is not as customizable as the higher quality Current models. But delivers on what it promises. It is moisture resistant and is set up with:

112 8500K White LEDs
16 Blue LEDs (actinic)
16 620 Nm Red LEDs

The light has 3 modes:

Max
Moonlight
Off

As mentioned, it is not the most customizable 48 inch aquarium light on the market, but for those looking for a value choice it is a viable option. And it (version 2) is significantly better than the original Stingray.

BeamsWork EA Full Spectrum 48 Inch Aquarium LED

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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The BeamsWork EA Full Spectrum 48 Inch Aquarium LED is a simple light and lacks the customization of many of the other models discussed in this article. Regardless, it is cost efficient, and does what it set out to. The lighting is comprised of 54 x 0.5 Watt LEDs:

37 10000K White LEDs
9 Actinic 460nm LEDs
4 Red 640nm LEDs
4 Green 520nm LEDs

It has a few downsides however:

Only two modes (no beautiful, pre-programmed sunsets)
Timing is possible, but requires the purchase of a timer module
Unlike most of the 48 inch models, it is not extendable to also use on up to 60 inch aquariums.

Beamswork EA Timer 6500K 0.50W LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant (120cm – 48inch)

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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Similar to the full spectrum model, the BeamsWork EA 6500K 48 Inch Aquarium LED is a simple light and lacks the customization of many of the other models discussed in this article. Regardless, it is cost efficient, and does what it set out to. The lighting is comprised of 54 x 0.5 Watt LEDs:

45 6500K White LEDs
9 Actinic 460nm LEDs

Unfortunatley it only has two modes: daylight and night time. Overall it is a decent, cost efficient option that does what it set out to do. No beautiful, pre-programmed sunsets or sunrises though!

KZKR 48 Inch Aquarium Hood Lighting

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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This KZKR 48-60 inch aquarium light has 3 modes:

All LEDs on
All LEDs off
Only Blue LEDs on

Unfortunately it is not possible to adjust the intensity of the lights. The system runs at 46 Watts and has 144 LEDs in total:

95 White LEDs
42 Blue LEDs
10 Red LEDs
6 Green LEDs

Similar to other lights, this KZKR 48-60 inch aquarium light is not fully waterproof. One nice component is that all of the LEDs are independent – if one stops working it will not affect the rest.

NICREW 48-60 Inch Aquarium Light, with Remote Control

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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The NICREW 48 inch aquarium light follows the natural daylight cycles. Not only does it have day and night modes, but it replicated the change in light through sunrise and sunset. This helps to mimic your fish’s natural environment (and provides you with a great visual experience).

It’s light range goes through the full spectrum. This allows for your aquarium plants to receive light sufficient for their growth while also ensuring that the vivid colors of our fish are optimized.

The Nicrew 48 inch aquarium light for 55 gallon aquariums also comes with a remote control. This allows the user to remotely change the lighting settings. There is also the ability to save 4 custom color and intensity settings.

If you need something larger there are also a range of high quality 72 inch aquarium lights to choose from.

BeamsWork LED Aquarium Fish Tank Light

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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BeamsWork’s 48 inch (120cm) aquarium light is a high quality product. It has a 2 mode (day / night) setting. It is perfect for your 55 gallon tank and alsoworks well on a 40 gallon (long) and even a 75 gallon tank.

The BeamsWork 120 cm aquarium light has 54 0.5 Watt LEDs:

37 white 10000K LEDs
9 actinic LEDs
4 red LEDs
4 green LEDs

From a display perspective this is great as it helps to accentuate the range of colors present in your tank.

The aquarium lights are suitable for aquarium plants. It is advisable to use the light on a freshwater (not saltwater) fish tank. The light comes with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.

Overall we found this to be a good quality product at a decent price. Certainly an option to be considered when looking for the best 48 inch aquarium light for a 55 gallon tank.

Yescom Multi-Color 156 LED Aquarium Light for 45-50″ Tank

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4/5
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The Yescom Multi-Color 156 LED aquarium light is great for 48 inch aquariums. It can also be adjusted to fit those from 45 inches to 50 inches in size.

There are 156 LEDs in total, spanning 5 different colors. There are 3 color settings available:

All LEDs on
Off
Only Blue LEDs on

This 48 inch aquarium light can be used for both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. One reassuring aspect of this 48 inch aquarium light is its durability compared to other options on the market:

It has an aluminium alloy shell rather than a plastic one
The LEDs work independently of each other. If one fails, you don’t have to worry about a whole block of lights failing at the same time!

COODIA LED Light for 46-54 Inch Aquarium

A Little Bit Fishy Score: 4.5/5
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The Coodia LED Light is great for 48 inch aquariums. It can also be adjusted to fit those from 46 inches to 54 inches in size. The aquarium light comes with a remote control that allows you to adjust the brightness and also change the color settings.

This 48 inch aquarium light can be used for both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. One thing to be aware of is that the light may be on the dimmest setting when it comes out of the box. Before you get too despondent, it is possible to adjust the brightness up, to the point where you can happily grow aquatic plants.

Overall a decent option, particularly at the price point it is sold at.

120 cm Aquarium Lights – Conclusion

There is a huge range of 48 inch / 120cm aquarium lights on the market today. We’ve outlined a number of options above at a range of price points. From fully customizable options such as those offered by Current, down to the much simpler two-mode options. Hopefully you’ve found one that meets your needs and will light up your aquarium and make it the center piece you deserve!