Yes, the grow lights are different. Even though they have some of the same wavelengths/spectrums of light as natural light, its almost impossible to equate anything other than metal halides or VHO's with something approaching real sunlight. The normal strength grow lights and flourescents just can't pack the same photon punch as sunlight, even weak, screened or dappled light, which is why you need to put the bulbs so close to the plants. The Coral Life bulbs come in reflectorized and non-reflectorized to send down as much light as you want, but even those never burned anything I had. I have a 50 gallon terrarium that I was using metal halides in, and they were so powerful I had to make a "light" are and a "dark" area inside by using just one bulb instead of 2. The overshine from that one bulb was bright enough to kill the Dendrobium lodegessii cuttings I put in there with too much heat, but I have an Angraecum distichum that loved it and bloomed its head off and added 2 new leads. I took the metal halides off though and got regular aquarium hoods with flourescents, because with the halides, and theym generating HEAT that flourescents don't, and I had to elevate the hood 6" on blocks over the terrarium, so the humidity was poor. It didn't matter for a while, but now I am thinking of getting into dendrobates (poison dart frogs) and they need it humid and cooler, and the system needs to be CLOSED so they can't escape. If you are at all able, you could put your plants outdoors for the summer in dappled light in NC and they would probably like that very much. Where in Florida were you living?

I like it when you say you are not an expert. Many say they are who are not. I always have a problem with what someone is about to say, when they start off their sentences with, "absolutely". I'm not an expert either but our info is good to consider because we are doers and experimenters. Experts can't be bothered to answer any of our questions as they are too busy preaching to the crowds. We end up having to read books and ask others for advice and then the most important part we give it a try and report our success and failures to others. Thanks again for your advice and I value your input. I will keep my questions to a minimum and start building my tank. I will send you pictures on this site, or start a new string, of my progress with it. Others are welcome to weigh in on this stuff with their opinion as well. Even the "experts".

Squirel cage fans block the light, an important consideration if some plants need 12 hours of darkness to bloom. The axial fans Paul is talking about do not block the light; you would have to rig up something else to do that. The axial fans that are quiet, tend to have low cfm. Because small axial fan blades have so little surface area, they need to rotate fast in order to move a lot of air. (Paul) " Electrical and computer fans at low rpm are virtually silent,..." (Lermer) "Electrical" fans? I had thought all fans were electrical, although I suppose there might be little elves with hand-powered fans. "Computer" fans? I don't know what kind of fan Paul has, (perhaps the original WWII-era Eniac); but in all the computers I have seen, the axial fans in them are too small to be useful for plant room ventilation. (Dcarch) "The computer type of cooling fan is specifically designed for ventilating and cooling." (Lermer) Silly me, I had thought all fans were for the purpose of ventilation and cooling. Please, tell me where I could get some fans that are not. Ripley's Believe it or Not might be interested. (dcarch) "Squirrel cage (centrifugal) blowers are specifically used to overcome backpressure situations as in pushing air thru ductworks. It is never used for general cooling purposes." (Lermer) Squirrel cage fans have that capability, but they don't have to be used in ducting; in fact they are rated for different lengths of ducting starting with none at all. Normally I wouldn't use them without ducting (because of the higher cost) but they do block the light. If you read what I said, my first preference was for an open door with a 16" pedestal mount fan from Home Depot. Telling someone to make holes in their door and install axial fans in them, without warning them about light leaks (in and out) is irresponsible. (dcarch) "Before you use a 16" fan to blow on your seedlings, say goodbye to them first." (Lermer) I said, pedestal mount; which means, the height is adjustable. Jon didn't say anything about seedlings. Those can be placed away from strong air currents. The bigger plants would appreciate the air movement (as any but rookie growers know). (Object 16) "PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS OPTIMUM at 70-85 degrees." (Lermer) That's an incredibly ignorant statement. Where did you hear that? Generally, he optimum temperature is 76F. For every two degrees above that, you lose about 10% of the plant growth. This isn't apparent to the naked eye, except at extremely high levels. Above 76F you will see more green leaves because the leaf surface area increases (leaves become thinner) to transpire/cool more; and the leaves at such high temperatures tend to be more full of water. Once you weigh the dried mass, you will significant reductions in yield at 85F. Although light-on periods should have at least 70F. http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/greenh use_management/gh_cool_growing.htm "For many crops, media temperatures for germination should be between 72F and 76F. After a crop is established, most plants will tolerate non-optimal temperatures more easily. Seed germination is not the place to skimp on heat." (Lermer) Adult plants can usually tolerate slightly lower or higher temperatures, depending on species (where they evolved). A few degrees above optimum is a lot more harmful than a few degrees below optimum. (Object 16) "Plant growth is mainly a function of total number of photons - a rough measure of light intensity is lumens, so have a look at both lamps, and decide whether one or the other has sufficient lumens." (Lermer) "Lumens" is a "rough" measure, true; very rough, because it is biased toward the center of the spectrum. HPS reads very high in lumens because it is mostly yellow spectrum. However lacking a better common measurement, "lumens" is a factor to consider; but you should also consider spectrum. Generally you want a full spectrum, between 400-700nm, blue (about 420nm) and red (about 675nm) are the most important. For that, CRI (color rendering index) is a rough measure.

Sorry to hear about the induction light, but I'm not surprised that it sold that quick , that was a great price. Here is a great website that explains LED lights: http://ledgrowlightsreview.org/ From what I've seen and read, unless you buy a good LED unit which has quality leds with lenses and good heat sinks, as described in the the guide there, is good quality over all, the LEDs are useless. It's still fairly new technology and unless you're gonna get the top brands that implement those lenses you're just wasting your money. A good unit costs around $1000 from what I've seen. Those units that you found on craigs list are a waste of money imo. My overall suggestion is go with what's known to work. There is a reason why most indoor growers either use Fluorescent, Metal Helide and High Pressure Sodium lamps.... because they work :) Sure you'll see and hear great things about those UFOs from people on youtube but unless you personally know the person keep in mind that those people most likely are either trying to sell this stuff or are just full of it. Just ask yourself this, this person who is selling them only after a month! He praises them :) but still selling them :) If they were so freakin great why wouldn't he keep them???? My advise, once again is to invest in Florescent T5HO setup. It's compact, runs cool and energy efficient, easy to disassemble when you'll move again, you can grow different varieties of plants and it works. If you want higher yields/grow tall plants and have lots of room for these lights than go with MH and HPS combination. If you're set on the LEDs than go with quality brands and spend the money. I'm gladly sharing what I know with you so no need to say sorry. That's what these forums are for.