Mylar instead of reflectors?

[cephei]

I was thinking about buying reflectors to boost the light in my rio 240 tank but they arent that cheap here €20 each and I need 4.. So I was thinking if I got a sheet of mylar I could fix it to the underside of the hood and it would have the same effect for a fraction of the cost...

 

[Squawkbert]

Cheaper still - High gloss white paint. It does quite well, compared to mylar.

If you really want to go top shelf, on the cheap, buff out some aluminum flashing using jewelers' rouge or rubbing compound. You can get a mirror finish if you follow that with some polish. Then bend the flashing into a roughly parabolic arch and you have it.

 

[cephei]

Cheaper still - High gloss white paint. It does quite well, compared to mylar.

If you really want to go top shelf, on the cheap, buff out some aluminum flashing using jewelers' rouge or rubbing compound. You can get a mirror finish if you follow that with some polish. Then bend the flashing into a roughly parabolic arch and you have it.

Thanks for that not a bad idea! I think I might give the mylar a whirl and see what happens.. Any ideas on the best ways to attach it to the hood? Only thing I can think of is duck tape...

 

[nguyendetecting]

lol no duck tape!

 

[cephei]

lol no duck tape!

Oh why not? Any alternative?

 

[DAVIDFBT]

I think the heat of the lights might melt the adhesive and eventually fail. Just use screws. And also, I think it's called duct tape.

 

[Spewn]

Thanks for that not a bad idea! I think I might give the mylar a whirl and see what happens.. Any ideas on the best ways to attach it to the hood? Only thing I can think of is duck tape...

Duct tape won't work. Not only will the adhesive have issues, the tape itself will become brittle and useless due to the light and heat exposure.

You'll want some kind of adhesive to keep it flat. The biggest problem you'll have with mylar is its durability; If it creases, you'll probably want to replace it as it will create odd concentrations of light. Same goes for if you tear it. Either of those are likely to happen at one of two times; During application, or during cleaning.

Flat white paint gets my vote, all three(white paint, polished aluminum and aluminized polycarbonate are all about the same in terms of reflectivity)

 

[jflng]

I used to think mylar was a great alternative until I read this:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...light-intensity-variations-some-thoughts.html

That's quite a bit of info for you to sift through and soak in, but it might be worth your time to read.

I still use mylar on this fixture:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149876

I used 2mm mylar and reflective tape to mount it. It's been about 7 months and is holding up perfectly.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Where exactly in that thread is a discussion of Mylar?

Isn't Mylar 98% reflective? Can't get much better than that.

 

[jmhart]

Honestly, there's no substitute for good reflectors.

However, "good enough" is white paint. Cheap, effective, minimal effort.

Either spend the money on reflectors or use white paint....you can always get reflectors later.