I just purchased a new modular 30" LED fixture from Aqueon for my 36 gallon, bow front tank, replacing a T8 fluorescent tube light. I read many reviews and had a lot of angst deciding what brand to go with, and once I decided that, which and how many additional LED strips to purchase. Reviews, price point and brand reputation swayed me this Aqueon modular unit and I am completely satisfied. I choose to combine one Beauty Max LED strip with the Day White strip that comes standard with the fixture. With just these 2 strips installed (out of 3 possible), I am EXTREMELY happy with the intensity and spectral representation. The BeautyMax pulls out fantastic blues and red from my cardinal tetras, my pearl angelfish shimmers and the reds on my Denison's barbs are as vivid as I have ever seen them. PLENTY of light to reach the 18" to the tank bottom. No intensity issue whatsoever. Colors and intensities are notably better than the Aqueon Full Spectrum T8 fluorescent bulb. Time will tell how my plants do with these LEDs, but trusting other reviewers on this. So, for the time being, I will just stick with the two LED strips. Moonlight blue nightlight is nice. To those who wonder like I did before buying: you should buy "Size 30" modular lights for this 30" fixture. The lights are labeled as SIZE 30, not 30 inches. The actual lights are shorter than 30", of course, such they fit inside the 30" fixture. Perfectly logical, but some of the descriptions on Amazon call the lights 30 inches (Instead of "size 30"), which can make one wonder if they will fit in the fixture or if we should buy 24" bulbs to fit. The number labels on the lights are there to match the size of the fixture, 30 for 30". (This may have just been me overthinking this before purchase.) Negatives, much as described in other reviews include: - Toggle switch between night light and full lights would have been better as two independent switches - Much light escapes from the underside of the fixture, which is a half inch or so above the surface it sits on. I may try to block by stuffing something in the gap - This fixture is surprisingly wide (maybe 6 inches). On my bowfront hood (also Aqueon), the light overhangs the front feeding cover if I center it on the glass strip. Hence, any feeding time will now be a two step process i) slide the light fixture a few inches backwards on the tank and ii) open the front lid to feed. Annoying but I will deal with this. - The way the LEDs catch and throw surface bubbles/waves is a little unsettling to me. Nice to have the water light effect spilling out into the room, but still not sure I like all that "movement" of reflections compared to the more steady fluorescent I have been used to. I do think I will get used to this, and the spectral quality and intensity of the light will make up for any misgivings on this. - My own speculation: is this product being phased out? These lights can't be found in local pet stores, so I do wonder about future replacement. That said, we supposedly won't need to replace for a decade or more in any event. Edit: After more than a year I still love this light. I recently added a 3rd light bar, and rewired the light to allow timer control of all 3 LED bars plus the two blue "moonlight" LEDs. I can have any combination of the 4 "channels" come on at any point in the day. I used this timer:KNACRO PTR4-SP Controller 4-Way Programmable Time Relay DC 6-40V 99 groups time . I used a 10-wire 18 AWG sprinkler wire bundle to rewire the light (i.e., cable from timer up to light). I wired the light switch to trigger changing to specific modes. This was a multi-hour project, requiring some careful soldering and modification of the small printed circuit board within the light's switch assembly (to isolate the 3 LED plugs). So, don't undertake it lightly. But, the result is fantastic. My aquarium now has an automatic daily cycle including all lights off, moonlight, sunrise/sunset modes and a all-on daylight mode.
