reflector

nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I think there is a technical reason not to use mirrors but danged if I can remember the reason.....I think the preference is polished alumunium.
 
happyvac

happyvac

Member
Only reason I can think of is the difficulty of changing the form of the mirrors.
Reflectors are <$30 anyway. Or you can just paint the inside white.
 
nytrillium

nytrillium

Member
ill take a stab at it.... I think the mirror can focus the light rather that just reflecting it. A flat aluminum reflector simply bounces the light off of a flat surface. With a mirror, the light passes through a piece of glass, off a reflective material, and then back through the glass again. I woudl think that this could cause problems if the bulb was in a certain position or the mirrors were angled just right. Glass has a tendency to refract light and light acts oddly when passing through diff. materials. examples: looking at a pencil in a cup of water, it looks like the pencil is broken... when you look at the side glass of your tank through the front glass, it looks like a mirror....
Also, i think the foil backing of the glass mirror might peel. I think one of the main reasons may be that the glass in a mirror is really thin and probably wont take to high temp. very well
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top