Reflector material?

[coraldude]

What is the best reflector material for MHs?

 

[saltn00b]

reflectors you really cant make unless you are very good with metal and have the right machinery. even then, they will not be as good as ones you buy i dont think. they should be heavily polished aluminum. the ones ice cap sells for example are 95% reflective.

 

[azaintcold]

You would need a metal "brake" to stamp the metal the correct way. If you have access to that I would like to see how they come out once you've made them.

 

[bracebldrs]

you can buy 24inx24in ref material from a certian lighting supplier
i made alluminum trays 10x14x3 and inserted a layer of the reflective
material in a half circle in tray and it works fine for me.

 

[saltn00b]

brace, did you test the PAR, or are you just saying the lights looked brighter and corals thrived

 

[bracebldrs]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
brace, did you test the PAR, or are you just saying the lights looked brighter and corals thrived
do you mean with one of those lux meter thingys?im not that advanced yet.
alittle over a year now.things are growing ok .i made three of theses fixtures
for 250w mh14k single ended bulbs.they seem to cast light straight down .
im just trying to save a buck and i enjoy the diy stuff.how bad could it
be?i see reflectors out there that have three bends or like the lumeric that
has a bunch .mines like an eliptical.and the reflective material is like a mirror
no swirl marks or lines at all.saltn00b,have you done test with diy vs store bought?is it that important?perhaps you could shed some light on your
past exp.

 

[reefnut]

Polished Aluminum.

 

[saltn00b]

well just from what i have said before, the Ice caps and Teks are constantly battling it out for a single extra % edge in reflectiveness. the material and technology they use (aluminum highly machined polished) produces about 95% reflectiveness. i do not know how they measure that. when these reflectors are individually used with T-5 bulbs, the PAR values typically increase nearly 300%, which is why it is so important with T-5s to utilize them.