Reflectors

[shrimply]

I am going to use energy saving bulb sto light my planted tanks and am looking for ideas on how to make DIY reflectors for them.

Thanks

 

[Bloo]

Cheaply, get some Mylar on Ebay to put behind them. Or post in the buy/sell section and see if someone has some spare. The stuff you buy on eBay comes in yards

 

[simonbrown403]

Wine cartons are a good source of mylar, its a win win situation drink the wine and use the packet for your fish

 

[shrimply]

Isn't that stuff awful floppy. I thought you would need somthing you culd acctually bend, some sort of sheet metal.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, you can get polished aluminum, but thats not cheao

 

[Bloo]

If you want something you can bend, you might as well buy reflectors. Arcadia is slightly cheaper than Juwel.

 

[bennett]

Isn't that stuff awful floppy. I thought you would need somthing you culd acctually bend, some sort of sheet metal.

just attach the mylar to something that isn't floppy. i bought some mylar to line the inside of my hood and it's ace. but i did buy two reflectors for £1.26 off ebay as well...put em together and it's a winning situation

 

[toxik]

Get a decent size of like 26 -32 gauge sheet metal, automotive wetsand asst pack(800-2000 grit), and polishing compund.

Cut it to fit, sand it using 800 and work up to 2000, polish it, bend it, mount it.

If you got the money, have the peice of metal chrome plated.

If you're cheap or broke, use some kind of chrome reflective tape. They sell it at hardware and auto stores. Just tape up the hood.

 

[Phillip.M]

sorry to hijack the thread but what do you mean by taping the hood in your last sentence? Do you mean just the inside of it? Let me know. Thanks

 

[toxik]

Yeah, pop the bulb out and put refelctive tape in where the bulb sits if it's one of those little hood roof thingy lights.

 

[BigC]

Splicing some 3" plastic rainwater pipe and giving it a good lick of paint screw through the lamp holders into the hood. Cheap as chips....
Regards
BigC

 

[shrimply]

What kind of paint? That is more the sort of thing I was looking at doing.