What material to line inside of canopy for light reflection?

[gcfiend]

My plan is to line the inside of my canopy (48" long x 10" high) with some type of reflective material so that my whole inside of my canopy acts as a reflector.

I currently have 2 x 250W SE MH and 2 x 110W VHO actnics. I have a flat piece of dull aluminum behind the MH now.

I've looked at reflectors out there now, but the problem is that the air flow in the canopy would be resticted by the reflectors (heat issues) and I wouldn't have room for my VHO lights.

My question is:

1. What material can I use to line the inside of my canopy?
2. Has anyone else done this or is this even a good idea?

Thanks in advance!

[sasscuba]

White paint.

[gcfiend]

Thanks for the reply sasscuba.

I was hoping for a material that was a little more reflective, yet won't be effected by corrosion.

[sasscuba]

Good luck. White paint and building reflectors for the lights you have would be the best option. Every metal will corrode or rust when in contact with saltwater by splash or salt creep. You want it brighter I would get 400 watt MH and skip trying to make the whole canopy a reflector. IMHO.

[BeanAnimal]

Your doing a great diservice to yourself by not using quality reflectors for the MH. A very large portion of the light is being wasted. Lining the hood will not help much!

Replace the two VHOS with T5s equiped with SLR reflectors. You will get much more efficiency out ot the T5 bulbs and that will leave room for good MH reflectors.

Put another way:
(2) 150W DE bulbs equiped with ROIII or mini Lumenarc reflectors will outperform your lined hood with (2) 250W DEs. You would have MUCH less heat to contend with and get more light into the tank. Replacing the VHOs with T5s with SLRs removes even more heat from the setup and puts even more light down into the tank.

[BeanAnimal]

You want it brighter I would get 400 watt MH and skip trying to make the whole canopy a reflector. IMHO.

That is trying to fix the problem by brute force and only leads to more problems and cost.

There is simply no alternative to quality reflectors.

[sirreal63]

Or you could use reflectors that actually direct the light to the tank. This would be better than trying to make the rectangular canopy a reflector. You will lose light that way. ReefOptics reflectors are small and work very well...much better than what you are planning. :-)

[shelburn61]

Light rays that hit the water surface at at an angle lose energy and those that hit at more than 45 degrees are lost completely... this is why you need reflectors.

[gcfiend]

Thanks for all the comments.

Especially the ReefOptics site All the sites I've been going to had the releflectors heights at 5" or more which severly choked the airflow from my fans. These reflectors are only 2 1\2 inches and the width gives me room for my VHO.

Puting my order in.

Thanks again for all the great advice and talking me out of a bad idea

[luv951]

Has anyone ever tried mylar? Available at horiculture stores and made of plastic, so no rust.

[sirreal63]

Originally posted by luv951
Has anyone ever tried mylar? Available at horiculture stores and made of plastic, so no rust.

Yes and it works better than flat white paint at wasting light inside of the canopy instead of directing it at the tank. Use a proper reflector, anything less is a waste of time, money and light.

[luv951]

My thoughts were to do both. Mylar is cheap. Why not get a good reflector, but also line with mylar to catch and reflect all the residual light?

[barjam]

White paint works better than mylar actually.

[gcfiend]

Curious,
What kind of paint can you use? If you have specific brand info and type, it would be helpful. Even more helpful if it can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. (I hate asking for assistance there, cause they look at you funny when I ask I need marine epoxy)

[barjam]

If it were me I would use white killz. But really a reflector is the only real option.

My lights aren't even in a canopy, they are open with reflectors (MH & T5) and the light "bouncing" up is nearly zero. The room light (a small spiral bulb) about two feet above my fixture is far brighter than the light bouncing up, if that makes sense (in wall tank, 4 feet up).

[sirreal63]

For diffusing it does. Point source reflectivity is better with Mylar but neither works good for what the O.P. wants to do. A good reflector will direct the light to the tank and the reflected light will be a minimal amount.