I have LEDs over my BC14 (a DIY 12 emitter retrofit, dimmable blue and white) as well as the PAR38s over my frag tank. I don't think I'd ever use another lighting technology. I've had MH, PC, and T5 in the past and they all have their advantages, but the LEDs outweigh them all imo.

In my BC14 I have a 6 yr old rose BTA and some monti caps growing nicely. In the frag tank my hammer and Blue Meanie micros are growing wild.

The only downside, imo, is that some corals don't look as nice under LED. I can deal with that though.

I'm not a huge coral junkie, so I don't really notice how some corals look different under LEDs. It seems that if you're accustomed to high end MH or T5 setups, some people do say that their corals look different. There's an interesting article in CORAL magazine a few months back talking about how the lighting affects your perception of a corals' color. In no way does it mean anything to the coral, but as you narrow the color spectrum by going bluer, you're limiting some of the colors which come back at you (though at the same time you're enhancing other colors which reflect the spectrum you're using).

Anyways, I think you're confusing PAR (as in 250 PAR at the sand bed, photosynthetically active radiation) with PAR (as in PAR 30, a style of floodlight). They're completely different topics! With the lights, I believe the difference between a PAR30 and a PAR38 is primarily the size. Now how much PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) they each put out is going to vary depending on how many LEDs there are, the current they're run at, and the optics used. If I were you I would continue doing a little more research. You'll notice that there's a price difference between some similar looking spotlights from the different manufacturers. They aren't all the same thing, so be sure you understand the specifics of each of them and make sure they'll accomplish your goals before buying them. A lot of people here on N-R.com have experiences with the nanotuners product though I'm sure there are some that have experience with others as well.

not to be too nosey but how much did all the parts cost for the stand you made? Im going to try to make a similar setup with 4 bulbs.

Not sure of the exact cost. It does add up because the longer pipe is probably $15, the shorter one $8. $7 for the tee, a couple for the elbow. $6 for the extension cord, and $8 for two lamp holders.

With cleaner and paint I probably spent close to $50 but I searched quite a while for a suitable solution and found nothing that would work for me. I think track lighting would have been the only other option but I couldn't figure out how to make that height adjustable and still look decent.

You think these would work from the socket? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...s%3DI%26otn%3D2 Pretty much guarantees I wont screw up the wiring. My dad owns a muffler shop so Im thinking I could use some exhaust piping for the stand.

any updates on the tank? have you tried keep sps in the frag tank at all? siiick tank!

Very nice tank! clean simple and to the point. Can't wait to see some pictures of all the frags that you're going to be propagating. Keep the pics comin

Could I get measurements on where you drilled your holes for the Herbie. I have a tank I'm wanting to setup that is the same footprint, just 12" tall, and I want to do the same overflow method.

The overflow is 4" x 10" and has two 1" bulkheads (1.65" holes) in the bottom spaced out evenly. The main drain has no standpipe at all, the 'emergency' drain has a standpipe pretty much even with the overflow teeth. My returns are through 3/4" bulkheads in the rear corners.

I run the Herbie with a very small trickle of water flowing into the emergency drain. It's much easier to keep balanced that way and I never really need to adjust the gate valve. It's still dead silent.

Any updated photos?

Cbachman if you dont want to do wiring then go on amazon and search for paper lantern sockets. You just screw the bulbs in and plug it into the wall or power strip and youre good to go. I use 3 of them for my boost par 30s over my 20 long.

Here's an update as the tank is about 1.5 yrs old. Frags are growing out although somewhat slowly. I took out the mangroves because I read they might be consuming some nutrients the corals needed. Had a bit of an algae problem and the clean-up crew couldn't get into the egg crate effectively so I went to putting most of the frags on the tank bottom. I'm really glad the light is adjustable as I've moved it several times. BTW...taking pics of an LED lit tank is not easy.

Starting to really get a ton of Bluemeanie micros:

Up close on some of the bluemeanies. I started probably 6 years ago with a quarter sized patch of these.

nice set up.