Lighting question, can't afford reflectors

thatguy · 01/22/2007, 05:09 PM

I have 2x175w MH. They are in one of those big black metal things that hang over the tank. The inside is painted white. I don't have money to buy reflectors, so I was thinking of lining the interior of the housing with foil or some other reflective material.

I wanted to know if this would be any better or worse than the white paint?

hahnmeister · 01/22/2007, 05:14 PM

just leave the white and save up. White paint is a very good reflector, FWIW, and the major benefit of the reflector isnt so much the material as it is the geometry. A aquare box isnt going to do much for you no matter what the material its lined with. You really want something parabolic to focus the light downwards.

Sure you cant afford a basic spider reflector? Im sure someone here would even have one for sale... cheap. These are a mere $20 each... loads better than a box...
http://www.hellolights.com/pare.html

BurntOutReefer · 01/22/2007, 05:28 PM

leave the white as its almost the best reflector......(IMO).

thatguy · 01/22/2007, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
just leave the white and save up. White paint is a very good reflector, FWIW, and the major benefit of the reflector isnt so much the material as it is the geometry. A aquare box isnt going to do much for you no matter what the material its lined with. You really want something parabolic to focus the light downwards.

Sure you cant afford a basic spider reflector? Im sure someone here would even have one for sale... cheap. These are a mere $20 each... loads better than a box...
http://www.hellolights.com/pare.html

Oh, in that case I guess I could. What is the LFS doing asking $125? Granted the ones they have are much larger and all four sides are angled down... but it's still just bent metal.

thanks

hahnmeister · 01/22/2007, 09:55 PM

And the ones with the mogul sockets attached are just $10 more each if it makes things more simple for you. But yeah... $20 each is hard to beat. By the time you get done lining the box with whatever, the time and money Im sure would go beyond that.

The larger, 4-sided or enclosed pendants are more money, but you can get just the reflector alone and be set.

01/22/2007, 05:09 PM	#1
thatguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CO Posts: 513	Lighting question, can't afford reflectors I have 2x175w MH. They are in one of those big black metal things that hang over the tank. The inside is painted white. I don't have money to buy reflectors, so I was thinking of lining the interior of the housing with foil or some other reflective material. I wanted to know if this would be any better or worse than the white paint? __________________ #something witty Current Tank Info: in my memories

01/22/2007, 05:14 PM	#2
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	just leave the white and save up. White paint is a very good reflector, FWIW, and the major benefit of the reflector isnt so much the material as it is the geometry. A aquare box isnt going to do much for you no matter what the material its lined with. You really want something parabolic to focus the light downwards. Sure you cant afford a basic spider reflector? Im sure someone here would even have one for sale... cheap. These are a mere $20 each... loads better than a box... http://www.hellolights.com/pare.html

01/22/2007, 05:28 PM	#3
BurntOutReefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Granada Hills Posts: 4,376	leave the white as its almost the best reflector......(IMO).

01/22/2007, 09:55 PM	#5
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	And the ones with the mogul sockets attached are just $10 more each if it makes things more simple for you. But yeah... $20 each is hard to beat. By the time you get done lining the box with whatever, the time and money Im sure would go beyond that. The larger, 4-sided or enclosed pendants are more money, but you can get just the reflector alone and be set.