Reflective material

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Reflective material
From: GnJCollins at aol_com
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 13:53:25 -0500

My father and I built a DIY lighting system using Home Depot fittings and
used a rain gutter (for roofs) as the hood.  There are prefabricated endcaps
which are easily held on using acrylic.  To save some money and weight, we
opted not to use any tin/aluminum fittings.  Instead, we went to a floral
shop and bought some silver mylar (it is the stuff balloons are made of) and
simply used tacky glue to mount it in the hood.  The other good part about
that is the fact that the silver sheets of mylar reflect a lot of the heat.

I bought a yard of the stuff (red on one side and silver on the other) for
about $1.50, and it works better than any reflectors I've seen - with the
exception of mirrors.  But it is a whole heckuva lot less money and it is
extremely light.  I think the floral shops use it for wrapping plants and
pots in.

Remarkable, but if you go to someplace besides an "aquarium" store, things
cost a fraction of the amount you can find in your favorite fish shop!!!

Jason Collins
Summerville, SC - 68 and windy