DIY Hood

wow no kidding! never thought about that! i'll have to look that up. don't they use like nickel or something to make mirrors?

 

BC..was it this stuff? Reflective Mylar?
Reflective Mylar Sheeting (for use in DIY lighting systems)

 

Well it was specifically referring to aluminum foil and it's general toxicity. That mylar stuff looks like it would work great!

(jftr aluminum is suspected to be a partial cause of dementia in humans, not to mention all the other things it might cause!)

 

from what I've been seeing/reading so far, mylar is used widely in the hydroponics/growing industry. seems pretty reasonably priced too! scary about the aluminum and nope I won't be using the foil...thanks for the heads up on that! karma comin your way!

 

After googling I find it very amazing how many times aluminum is recommended for use. Here's an article I did find though:


"If the polished aluminum is not anodized or overcoated like this, salt splash on a bare aluminum reflector will corrode the aluminum which will decrease reflectivity and can eventually even poison your tank! Eventually the salt builds up on a plain bare aluminum reflector and eventually some of this salt starts dropping or gets knocked into your aquarium with some dissolved or corroded aluminum in this salt. This aluminum buildup in your aquarium becomes toxic, killing snails and then other things. For this reason DO NOT USE ALUMINUM FOIL OVER YOUR LIGHTS AS A REFLECTOR!"

It's actually a quite interesting article, you might want to read the whole thing. After what I pasted it had some other suggestions for what to use for reflection.

Anne

 

Don't use foil its to thin and will tear first time you try to wipe it down. I use Aluminum Flashing from Home Depot. Comes in 6, 12, 24" widths, used spray adhesive to attach it and a couple of stainless steel screws with washers in the corners and along the edges for extra holding power. Protects the wood, won't corrode, Reflects the light and salt spray can be wiped off really easy. Seems like every time I wipe it down it gets shinier that the last time to.

 

well cool beans, thanks Gazog and BC!!!! I'll look at my lhs, the one that is going out of biz. he's got all kinds of stuff, he might have some flashing!

 

I might be paranoid but I'd stay far away from aluminum. What if there were water droplets from moisture buildup on it that dripped back down in the water?

I like the mylar idea personally, or the other stuff that article suggested.

Just me though.

 

Thanks for the link,

Very interesting, I'm really not to worried about salt creep falling back into the tank because I don't let it get that much on the aluminum so it can fall back in. I wipe it down every couple of weeks.

Might try that mylar though, got a pretty good Idea for some DIY reflectors I might try it on.

 

yep good article! I am staying away from aluminum foil, but hubby is going to the lhs to see if they have anything else that might just work. gonna see if he has any mylar.....hey my bro makes signs..I bet he's got some!!!!..