metal halide: reflector or bright white paint?

[Colin Harbut]

Hi guys,
I am building a custom hood to hold a 175 watt, 12,000K MH bulb. I have heard that painting the inside of the hood with a bright white paint is as reflective as using a mirrored reflector (...which costs another $30 I dont have). Is this true?

Thanks!

 

[Emperator]

paint the inside of the canopy a flat white in addition to using a spdierlight reflector to maximize the light directed itno your tank.

 

[J.Howard]

Highly polished aluminium reflectors are much more efficient than white paint. MH's are expensive to buy and run, why not get the most bang for your buck? You can always paint now and save for a reflector to add later (Pain in the ... but if you're on a budget...) that would be a great combo.

 

[Len]

A well-designed, faceted aluminum reflector is definitely the way to go. It's not just about the reflectivity of the material, but also the shape of the reflector. Check out some past issues of www.advancedaquarist.com (under Archives in the Featured Article section); tons of great studies and reports by Sanjay Joshi and Tim Marks about reflectors and halides.

 

[PRC]

Sanjay Joshi recently did some very extensive testing on reflectors and I believe he also tested white painted backgrounds for comparison. You should be able to find his article with a search on his name.

 

[Anonymous]

i saw some tests on reflectors in advanced aquarist..i agree with reflectors being the thing of choice..you wont get any better...