light hood colors

[dfish2077]

Hi I was wondering if I paint the backs of my fixtures from white to a chrome color will it make the lights brighter or will it be worse.I think the reflective chrome will help me reflect more light down into the tank. Comments and thoughts are appreciated thanks ...dfish

[skmdmasud]

I have used mirror inside the hood as reflector. Although i dont have any test result but it did not increase the light, it did not help much. Then i painted it white and saw noticeable difference. This was because mirror will reflect light but it needs to be aligned and shaped properly so that all the lights reflects inside the tank just like a car's or bike's head lamp, you need to make the reflectors geometry correct.

I would suggest painting it white if you cannot bend and give proper shape to the hood or relfector.

[scapegoat]

i believe it's been said that white is a great reflector of light.

[JimmyZ]

I had white plastic reflectors that yellowed with age and began to get brittle. I took aluminum foil, sprayed adhesive on the dull side and attached it to the plastic. It was easy to smooth out and get good reflection off it. Not sure if it was brighter than when the reflectors were truly white but it did make a big difference from the yellowed reflectors. You could always try to temporarily tack some foil to the reflectors and see if it makes a difference.

[Hoppy]

Chrome isn't a good reflector. It looks good, but doesn't reflect nearly as much of the light that aluminum or white paint reflects.