Martin McNally Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 I am going to build a hood for my tank. Going to start out just with PCs in it but leave room for a MH or 2 a little down the road when my bank balance recovers from setting up this tank. Do you think reflectors are worth the money to purchase rather than just cutting up some mirros and putting those in the hood. Could easily mount mirrors above the light and at an angle around the sides. Thus saving a small fortune. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 Upgrading later will cost you more. Just save up a little more now then get the MH rather than starting with PCs. Trust me, I've been there and looking back I wish I hadn't wasted all that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharuq1 Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 I read somewhere on reef central (?) that mirrors make poor reflectors. I could be totally wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McNally Posted July 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 Upgrading later will cost you more. Just save up a little more now then get the MH rather than starting with PCs. Trust me, I've been there and looking back I wish I hadn't wasted all that money. I was planning on eventually running 2PC plus either 1 or 2 MH so I would be losing out just adding an MH at a later date, since I am building the hood there would be room also. Although I would have to switch out one of the PC 10000J bulbs for an antic, the other would already be antic. Interesting about the mirros I thought you would get 100% reflectivity with a mirror but the trick would be putting 3 of them in, one behind and 2 at each side angled correctly. I suspect they were just talking about using 1 mirror behind the light which yes would mean you are loosing all of the side reflection. Actually now that I think of it you would also lose some direct upwards reflection with the mirror so you might need 4 mirrors 2 top angled at something like 5% then 45% on the sides. Ok its starting to sound like i should just buy the reflectors. haha Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 Ah, I see. In that case your plan sounds good. A better method than the mirrors would be a coat of high gloss white paint on the inside of the hood. Of course, proper reflectors would be the best option but paint is cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Is there any kind of aluminum metal or something you can use as reflectors instead? Or will metals just rust with the salt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Aluminum doesn't rust but makes a lousy reflector unless it is polished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Mirrors don't work well for reflectors because they polorize the light. As a plant guy, I've done quite a bit of research as to what makes a good reflector. Anecdotal evidence from myself and many other plant peeps say that flat white makes the best reflecting color... So, what I do, is I paint the inside of my canopies white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Very interesting, I never would have known. That is some good info to know though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 (edited) Do you think reflectors are worth the money to purchase rather than just cutting up some mirros and putting those in the hood. Could easily mount mirrors above the light and at an angle around the sides.Martin From what I have read the reflectors are very important... Take an automotive headlight (not a sealed beam) and see how bright it is without the reflector... then put it inside a white box... then put it back into the headlight. Same bulb running 55 watts. Edited July 26, 2008 by byte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 What about sealing some aluminum foil with shiny side out? I know foil does a great job at reflecting. Just an idea though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 The problem with foil is that when it crinkles it reflects light in directions other than down to the water. I have also used CDs with some decent success - it doesn't happen much these days, but a few years ago, I was getting CDs in the mail all the time for different software deals (must have clicked on the wrong ad or somehting). I was going to chuck 'em anyway, so I just stuck them over my shoplights and presto! Most of hte light goes directly into the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blainep Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 What about using something like Mylar sheeting ? aquariumplants.com example Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Mylar looks like a good product. I wonder if you can pick it up at any hardware store. It is cheap enough too. The CD's sounds like a good idea too. You are right about the foil though, unless you can get it on with crinkling it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagz_of_fish Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 http://www.nehydro.net/index.php?main_page...cae34fe03fe3590 here is a site that has mylar to buy. the price is not to bad i think im goin to get some my self Thank you for the tip. :thumbs: :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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