[horacer]

Hello everyone.
I am thinking about trying to build a canopy for my 20 tall tank. My question is referring to a reflector. Can I use mirrors for the reflector? Was thinking about using mirror tiles like yu can get at lowes or home depot. Or would the heat be too much for the project. Was wanting a compact light set up. Thanks for any advice given.

 

[freydo]

i think someone here has used mirrors for a reflector, and i think with some success. the only problem with using mirror tiles is creating the parabolic shape that is optimized for reflecting light back into your tank.

and i'm not sure if the drawback of using mirrors is that it may cause the light to refract too much before hitting the tank below. of course this would be similar to just relying on a white painted interior of your canopy.

if you're going DIY, why not go right to T5 lamps? a lot more efficient and less heat than the compact fluorescents.

 

[horacer]

Thanks for answering. Right now I am currently unemployed and was going to use what I have currently around the house.

 

[freydo]

then i would just paint the interior white. it would be just as efficient has the mirriror tiles, but less complicated to DIY. i did this with my 20 gallon, but i was using T8 fluorescent lamps, and i got sufficient light into my tank.