DIY Reflector?
 

Anyone made a DIY reflector before?

yup.:mrgreen:

Steve

What kinds of bulbs was it for? What kind of material did you use?

I have made them for VHO, PC, and MH. I would recommend using spectral aluminum and nothing else for a few reasons, one it doesn't corrode, it is way more reflective than anything else, and it is easy to work with.

I made my reflector out of flashing.
Its maybe not the best material to use but it gets the job done till I have time to find some better stuff to use. :mrgreen:

Thanks guys. For now I am going with PFO, if it was summer I would have investigated building my own out of aluminum, maybe next time, would be a fun project.

Any hints about where to find the spectral aluminum? I've asked a couple metal suppliers over here, but haven't had any luck yet.

metal supermarket can get it but you pay more. there are several different names for it depending onthe brand. I actualy found a place that will sell me prebent reflectors made of spectral aluminum for a deicent price.. it is a matter of me looking and seeing if they have what I want at the time.

Steve

Can you tell us the name of this place? :)

Ok wouldn't be cost effective to get it from my place but I can tell you how to find a place of your own :mrgreen:

look in the phone book under lighting contractors and then look for one who specilizes in office lighting upgrades. these reflectors are made for putting into floressent fixtures to increase the light output. they come in various sizes and shapes, so the trick is finding a place that will let you go through them and find what you think you need.

Steve

polished stainless steel mixing bowls Walmart $6 each. all you need are tin snips to cut a slot and a hammer to pound in dimples for diffusion. i can send to a pic if you want.

Interesting idea!

Can you put a pic up in this thread for everyone to see?

This is exactly what I did.
I got these reflectors from Dickinson Mtg. #407-204 Cayer st., Coquitlam 604-525-6444.
One reflector @ $27 about 3 years ago.
They can also cut you a piece, but more expensive.

I was out shopping with the family being annoyed i wasn't able to finish my tank setup, and it hit me, 12$ later and 6 months use i see no need to replace them they work so well, not bad for a cheap substitute until i could afford better. Notes: i was able to attach them to the flashing which lines my hood thus no heat transfer problems, i wouldn't just screw them into wood. and the placement of the center of the bulb to the center of the bowl is important. I used the 13" ones and the most non scratched and refletive ones i could find, the sharper your refletion the better.

Cool, thanks for the pics!

Do you have any pics with the bulbs mounted in them?
That looks like a really neat DIY idea. :wink:

I didn't have any but i quickly snapped a few, i appologize for the quality. When you mount them raising or lowering the height of the base of the bowl (distance between bulb and bottom of bowl)will change the width of the flood. You'll have to play around and find the right hieght that works for you my tank is a 24 deep, for reference.

Why is the dimpled shape better than just the round? Would more, but smaller dimples work even better or what is the theory behind this exactly?

The dimples defuse the light otherwise it is a spotlight. the small ones are the same theory just not as easy to manufacture or create at least consistantly, if you think about the physics i think that the small ones would eat up the light more (reflected light into other reflectors etc). i'm sure they just do that because it easier to manufature and size or usefulness there of. The reality is, for these ones, that's where the tin (stainless steel) held it's shape after i hit it with the hammer.The ones i used where thin walled but high tensile, but i would have made them that way anyway. besides it looks cool and isn't that what it's all about, not to mention cheap. hahaha

Very cool idea.Do you think there's enough room to mount a DE bulb in one of those?

I would think so but you would have to figure out how to mount a piece of glass on the end to filter out the u.v rays. And possible grounding/short problems with the de socket. other than that ya you could.

Denis, do you have a pic. of the reflector ?

reflector
 

Here you go.
It's 20" x 45"
I usually straighten it up and then re-bend it to suit my needs.
The protective plastic is still on.
This is my spare one I don't realy need, let me know if interested.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/reflector.jpg

If you want to see another one made from other types of reflectors (office upgrade types) here is some pics of me making mine. the thumbnails are broke but click ont he pic name and it works.
http://www.members.shaw.ca/s.l.s/diy...hts/index.html

Steve

Those pics are so small it's almost like they're not there.

:)

Has anyone tried reflective mylar? Here is an example:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Seems like a pretty cheap option.

Mylar is plastic and if it is close to a MH it will melt. also after long exposure it starts to delamanate.

Steve