Flourescent lighting reflection question...

[Blown 346]

I have a 4 foot flourescent fixture I bought from Menards. The fixture is white all around. I was looking at it and was thinking of putting Tinfoil on the underside to try and reflect more light into the tank.
I have also heard that just white does a pretty good job of that too.

Opinions? Or ways to get more reflection.

Thanks.

[excuzzzeme]

Tinfoil causes scatter rather than reflection. Leave them plain white as paint and angles have been set for best downward illumination.

[tanker]

You can try thin sheets of aluminum. Or if you really inventive try thin mirrors cut to size and glued to top.

[Blown 346]

That makes sense about the tinfoil. I will have to look into the aluminum and Glass options. Thanks.

[TwoTankAmin]

Unless one gets a quality reflector specifically designed for the fixture, a lot of light will not be reflected back into the tank, restrike will be an issue as well as how reflective the material is. This cones from the AH Supply site at http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm


The Right Reflector Unit
Wattage is only one of the elements that determines how much light you can get out of a fixture. The shape of the reflector, the position of the bulb in relation to the reflector and the choice of reflective material also have a dramatic impact. Since A H Supply has paid attention to all of these elements, you can get more light out of a 36 watt bulb using our Bright Kit™ than you can get out of a 55 watt bulb in a typical fixture that positions the bulb very close to a reflector with a broad flat top. In fact, in repeated measurements directly below the center of the bulb at distances of 6 and 12 inches, the light output of the same 55 watt bulb was 62% greater when installed in an A H Supply Bright Kit than when installed in a broad flat-top fixture.
http://www.ahsupply.com/images/36401.jpg http://www.ahsupply.com/images/36402.jpg
A major problem with the common broad flat-top unit is restrike. Much of the light going directly up from the bulb is simply reflected back to the bulb. And when the bulb is positioned too close to the reflector, much of the light going up at other angles is also reflected back to the bulb. In addition to this initial light loss, restrike also increases the temperature in the fluorescent bulb which, in turn, results in overall reduced light output, including the light that is emitted from the downward facing side of the bulb.

[jptjpt]

Definitely do not use tin foil b/c of the reason above. You can use gloss white paint, aluminum, mirrors or reflective mylar. They're the ones they make the balloons out of. They come in different quality/thicknesses. The only thing is they can be a pain to glue down.

[Blown 346]

Thanks for the info. I dont think those reflectors will work with my light. I will ahve to measure the inside dimensions of it and give them a call.

[yourchoice]

Unless one gets a quality reflector specifically designed for the fixture, a lot of light will not be reflected back into the tank, restrike will be an issue as well as how reflective the material is. This cones from the AH Supply site at http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

I don`t see any logic behind this.It`s just a marketing ploy.Not a chance it increases 62%If you ask the people at Coral Life they will probably tell you it decreases the intensity.

[Slappy*McFish]

It does work. It's the same principle that works for flashlights. Remove the flashlight reflector and see how bright it actually is.

[kj5kb]

Thou fussesh too much :)

enjoy your cheap (good) light as is.
IMHO not worth the bother to get a few % more out of it.

If needed, buy another one

[Blown 346]

I am buying another one to get a total of 160 watts.

[TwoTankAmin]

using a bare bulb haning over a tank, 50% of the light is going away from the tank and 50% is going towards it. So lets call the total amount of light 100 (to keep the math simple) and the amount of light going into and away from the tank for a bare bulb would be 50 for each.

If you can reflect back 31/50 of what is going the wrong way, or 62% of it, you then get 162% of what was going to the tank before adding the reflector. Where is the hype?

I have used their products for years and they deliver as promised as far as I can tell.

[yetti82]

I had an inside garden running in hydroponics and we used Mylar to reflect the light...being in the encloser was like being on the beach! I would suggest it for anyone. It's like a light film, so it is easy to work with and can be pasted to any surface with ease. Effiency I believe is at 99.8 percent light reflection on all spectrums.

[jptjpt]

I have the 55G light kit from AH Supply which I installed in an old perfecto hood. The kit's got everything you need and reflect a whole lot of light into the tank. I highly recommend AH Supply as a vendor. Kim is very knowledgeable and spends time speaking to you. He seems to be an honest person who won't undersell or oversell -- just what you need for your situation.

yetti82: Any tips on gluing the mylar down? I wanted to use it for a DIY project but figured that it was tough to find the right glue that would hold it.

[7itanium]

Unless one gets a quality reflector specifically designed for the fixture, a lot of light will not be reflected back into the tank, restrike will be an issue as well as how reflective the material is. This cones from the AH Supply site at http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

TwoTankAmin.. can you PLEEEASE send me a PM and get ahold of me

I have a question that is very urgent-- but your PMs are disabled

[Blown 346]

I had an inside garden running in hydroponics and we used Mylar to reflect the light...being in the encloser was like being on the beach! I would suggest it for anyone. It's like a light film, so it is easy to work with and can be pasted to any surface with ease. Effiency I believe is at 99.8 percent light reflection on all spectrums.


Where can I get Mylar?