[APD] RE: Mylar & reflectors

["Steve Pushak" <teban at powersonic_bc.ca>]

I've found that Mylar (or similar stuff) would deteriorate with age and
drop small bits of metal foil and/or plastic into my tanks. Instead I
would suggest white paint or polished aluminum. Sometimes you can find
large wrap around reflectors for 2 bulb FL lights or you can take two
single bulb reflectors and attach them on each side of a board that has
the ballast and tombstone bulb holders screwed onto it. I suspend these
on chains from either the ceiling or in my home-made 3 story aquarium
stand, from the level above each shelf. If the reflector is made of
plywood (3/8"), then its easy to brace it open using a small piece of
wood for maintenance. I find the aluminum/metal reflectors are not as
rigid and a little trickier to brace open. A nice alternative is to take
one of the 4 corner chains and hook it onto the opposing corner and that
holds the light up at a nice angle giving me plenty of room to get my
arm in.

Steve P in Vancouver

_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants