Lighting hood ?

[tmcpeek]

I just got done building a maple hood. It will house 4 165 watt VHO bulbs and led moonlightts I made it out of prefinished maple plywood. I was wondering if I should paint the inside white or add a piece of polished aluminum as a reflector.

Is a reflector necessary? I worry about the paint chipping in time so I thought aluminum would be good.

Thanks

 

[captivereefs]

Use marine spar varnish to paint the inside and mount a reflector most definately..

 

[ajacinth]

Reflector

A friend and I just build a canopy for my 10 gallon micro reef. I used, as a reflector, double ply mylar. Easy to work with and super reflective. You can pick some up at an indoor plant cultivation store.

 

[tmcpeek]

Nice. Thanks for the info. There is a hydroponics store close to my house so I will check it out.

 

[ajacinth]

No problem. If you get a chance could you post a pic of the hood you built. like to check it out. As well, wha are led moonlights, where did you get them, Are the just for looks, or is there some other benefits for them?

 

[tmcpeek]

Yes I will post some pictures of my hood. I got my moonlights at thelebos.com I was going to make some but I have so many projects right now, it was just easier to buy them. I don't really know if the moonlights are beneficial but I like the way they look so I added them to my system.. The website I got them from will explain them in detail.