DIY reflector

Cactus Bastard · 11-22-2007, 06:19 AM

A guy at work retired recently, and after the party, I noticed sitting in the garbage was a foil banner that said "Happy retirement" or something. I asked if I could have it, and decided to see if I could make a simple reflector out of it.

I taped it down to a piece of pvc pipe:

I coated it in epoxy, then took a white piece of corrugated cardboard and scored all of the ribs so it would curl nicely. I coated it with more epoxy and glued it down.

Once dry, I cut the tape holding it to the pipe, and I had a rather neat looking reflector happening

I hooked up a fluorescent tube and slowly lowered it into my reflector to see what kind of light it would produce. It blinded me! I couldn't believe what a difference my simple, crappy little reflector made!

I took a video which didn't exactly turn out perfectly, but it's still kind of neat.

Watch my cheesy video here!!

You can see as the light gets brighter, my camera tries to compensate by turning down the exposure, and the effect is significantly diminished. In real life it is much more dramatic. Watch the video anyways, and then just take my word for it I guess :P

Stasiu · 11-22-2007, 08:26 AM

Nice job! Very creative, I think i'll have to give it a shot on some cheap 18 inch tubes I have.

swylie · 11-22-2007, 12:44 PM

I assume that what you have there is a sheet of aluminized mylar. That's what those shiny, non-stretchy, printed helium balloons are made of, for comparison. That's a pretty awesome reflector you have there, but it's a shame it has a round section instead of parabolic. Oh well, as your video shows, it still boosts light output a lot.

11-22-2007, 06:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
Cactus Bastard Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 97	DIY reflector A guy at work retired recently, and after the party, I noticed sitting in the garbage was a foil banner that said "Happy retirement" or something. I asked if I could have it, and decided to see if I could make a simple reflector out of it. I taped it down to a piece of pvc pipe: I coated it in epoxy, then took a white piece of corrugated cardboard and scored all of the ribs so it would curl nicely. I coated it with more epoxy and glued it down. Once dry, I cut the tape holding it to the pipe, and I had a rather neat looking reflector happening I hooked up a fluorescent tube and slowly lowered it into my reflector to see what kind of light it would produce. It blinded me! I couldn't believe what a difference my simple, crappy little reflector made! I took a video which didn't exactly turn out perfectly, but it's still kind of neat. Watch my cheesy video here!! You can see as the light gets brighter, my camera tries to compensate by turning down the exposure, and the effect is significantly diminished. In real life it is much more dramatic. Watch the video anyways, and then just take my word for it I guess :P

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11-22-2007, 08:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Stasiu Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: OH Posts: 127	Nice job! Very creative, I think i'll have to give it a shot on some cheap 18 inch tubes I have.

11-22-2007, 12:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
swylie Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: Frederick, MD Posts: 664	I assume that what you have there is a sheet of aluminized mylar. That's what those shiny, non-stretchy, printed helium balloons are made of, for comparison. That's a pretty awesome reflector you have there, but it's a shame it has a round section instead of parabolic. Oh well, as your video shows, it still boosts light output a lot.

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