Made my own light reflector using a...........
 

Hey all.
I had a 29 gallon aquarium in the garage that needed to be used. The first thing I needed was a light source. Couldn't fit a bank of 4ft T5s in the area and I didn't want to use 24" T5 lights. Hit google to search for some homemade options that would allow me to increase wattage in the minium amount of space. Found a great answer on a site dedicated to of course, marijuana. Those guys get pretty creative. A guy made a simple reflector out of a mailbox. It held one CFL. I wanted one that would hold three. I drew out a quick scetch, got a huge mailbox on sale at Lowes for $10, and another for $3 at a garage sale. Long story short, this is what I came up with. It is not pretty but this sucker works. It can hold up to 750 watts and I mounted a small fan (coralife-on a recomendation by Ross) on the back to pull heat from the lights. When I started out I planned to make it asthetically pleasing as well as functional. However, function took over as the project went along. If I made another one, I think I could make it look more professional with what I have learned. The lights are 85 watt Full Spectrum CFLs that I found at a Northern Tool and Equipment store. If anyone is interested in the details on construction, I can post those later. I bought a bunch of stuff I didn't need and made a few mistakes along the way. Could help you avoid those mistakes. I put a small eye bolt on top so I can hook it to the top shelf which allows me to get in the orchidarium easily. Again it is not pretty I know, but I couldn't find anything like it anywhere at any store.
Neil

very nice.....yeah stoner's have nothing to do but sit around and invent stupid things that work some times

The kings of riggers heheh



good job

I like it. :D Good job:cheer:
Joann

Oh I love this idea! It doesn't look too bad!

Looks good to me .. Gin

GOOD JOB..... That's awesome........ Jim.

Hi Neil, That's pretty ingenious. Do you have a light meter? I'd be curious as to the foot candle reading at the bottom of the tank.

Bill

Hey Bill,
I don't have a light meter, not a decent one anyway. I am getting around 2300 a couple inches from the lights according to my cheapo meter. In the near furture I will get a better light meter and I will post the updated levels. Anything is beter than the T12s and T8s I had been using. One thing of note, I was unplugging the CFLs at night until I get a new Zilla timer. Not a good idea with CFLs. I blew one of the lights. Just something to keep in mind.
Neil