You might be a redneck if...

[jzdziarski]

...if your canopy isn't ready so you use the cardboard box the bulbs came in as a temporary workaround just so you can see the new lighting.

420 Watts over 100 Gal sure is bright =) One thing I miss about the flourescents though is that it really brought out the purples and the greens; I guess using a second super actinic might bring that back, but anyways....what kind of improvement can I expect with this lighting over my old 160-Watt lighting? Better corraline growth? Happier, shinier corals? What photo-period should I jump down to initially? 8 hours? 6 hours? I guess I should work my way up over a 2 week period or so. Carrying mostly soft corals and one or two stony.

[Alice]

I don't think you'd have to worry about burning your corals with that amount of light. 420 watts seems bright from what you are used to but the corals shouldn't need shades Still, better safe than sorry; you might want to cut back on your regular photoperiod. I've never had NO (normal output) florescents though so maybe someone else can give you a better idea of how much to ramp down the time.

Darn, I wish I had a pic of Fishdaddy's "Oplights" you two could have compared your high tech canopies

Alice