Get just a little bit more light out of standard fixtures.

[chasgood]

Ok you know I have the eclipse hood. Limits me but what can I do. I saw looking at online stores the higher end lights have reflectors. They brag that it maximises the amount of light going into the tank. So I thought why not try something low tech.
I got the aluminum foil out of the kitchen and went to work. Took the cover off the fixture and taped foil to the back, behind the bulbs. It was just white plastic. Thats it. Took just a few minutes and no cost.
I noticed a difference right away. Nothing big but I could tell. The main thing is the tank is more evenly lit especially the corners and back. A more attractive look overall. And I think the plants will benefit from this in some way.
Will it allow me to have plants that need brighter light? No.
Will the plants I have grow faster now? Not likely.
Will the plants be any healthier? Hard to say. Time will tell.
But if you are unhappy with the light in your tank and cant change it for whatever reason, this is a ultra cheap way to get just a bit better performance out of it.

 

[Guest]

Actually the white plastic is a better reflector than the aluminum foil. What you did was switch from a reflector, albeit a poor one to a diffuser. Test it yourself. Get a flashlight and a piece of aluminum foil, go into a dark room, shine the flashlight on the foil. Note how it scatters the light all over the room.

 

[chasgood]

Rex
After reading your post I did a little searching. The tin foil is better at light scattering than actual reflecting but it does reflect. Guess that is why the light is more even in the tank.
I did run across something that will work without scattering the light so much. Mylar. Found it is used in home made lighting, aquariums and by indoor plant growers. 2mm thick is what they seem to use. Now to find a local source. I only need a piece 4X24 inches.

 

[Mr Burns]

mylar is much much better than foil. actually, foil sucks. it sounds like a good idea, but that's about where the benefits of foil end. plain white paint is better than foil...

 

[chasgood]

Found some maylar at the hobby store. $2. Enough to do several lights. Yes it is much more reflective than tin foil. Almost like a mirror. It does seem a bit brighter than either the white or foil. More shodows than with foil. That adds some nice contrast. Can see reflections of light off the rippling surface on the back glass. Never noticed that before.

Hope this can be of help to someone. For $2 it is worth a try.

 

[malkore]

Yep, mylar is good stuff. Basically the 'efficiency' for reflectors goes like this: white paint, mylar, good reflector (like a MIRO).

I couldn't find mylar locally (the art store had mirrored acetate, but that's not the same thing) and online I could get a 30 foot roll for $20. The wife wouldn't let me use the excess to wallpaper my office, so I passed. Ended up ordering MIRO reflectors from ahsupply.com
I couldn't believe how reflective they are!

 

[djlen3]

I just did the same thing malkore. I was looking all over for a reasonable quantity of Mylar.....no luck.
Just gave up and called Kim at AH, and he's sending me a 34" piece that I can cut to fit two tanks, for far less than the Mylar ever would have cost.

Len