making a light enclosure

[beatenback]

Kudos to everyone on the board, I'm new, and have gotten lots of good advise.
I recently purchased an Icecap 660 ballast with 4 48" VHO bulbs, 2 white actinic, and 2 blue for my soon to be 75 gallon reef tank, now I need to build the light enclosure. My tank is going to be set in a wall, visible from both sides, with cabinet access on one side. My plan is to hang the light from the ceiling. Since it will be hidden, I'm not going to make anything fancy. My plan is to use wood, and basically make a rectangle to fit, leaving it open on the top to help with the heat. Since these bulbs run hot, will I need to line the wood with some sort of heat retardant material, or will the bare wood be okay?
Thanks in advance.

 

[beatenback]

Thanks a bunch! I suppoose a piece of polished aluminum from the hardware store would suffice as a reflector??? Also, just out of curiosity, how do you like the setup? I've gone through 3 different lighting configurations now (buy one, trade it in, buy one, trade it in, everytime I think I've got it right, I learn something new. I hope now I finally do have it right!

 

[beatenback]

I haven't tried halides. My tank isn't actually set up yet. I've just started construction on the wall. After doing some research, and taking some advise from this board, I decided to go with vho. It seamed to be the cheapest way to get the most light. Thanks for the info about being able to use a dimmer, I had no Idea.