Reflective Material

[Mineral]

Anyone use Mylar for a reflector in thier canopy?
pro's ? and con's?
I found some thick and thin Mylar, what would be best?

:cheers:

[Bri-Fli]

I have used the thick mylar for over two years.
No sign of breakdown of the material.
Pleased with the results

Brian

[Michael_Lambert]

I use it aswell in my canopy, Now im only running VHOS.. with a single 175 watt halide... So im not sure waht lighting you are using.. but i have heard that the stronger halides can melt it.. thats why most are forced to go with somthing like Hammertone.

[McQ]

I used mylar in my dual 400 watt MH reflector and it melted into two little balls. Kinda looked like Jiffy Pop tops. I have a metal reflector so what I did was I got some white exhaust/manifold paint from the auto supply store. Looks great and has handled the heat no prob.

Mike

[pbutkovich]

I never would have guessed that stuff would melt. It is sold at most Hydroponics stores and they use 400 watt bulbs as a minimun usually! Most Wacky Tobacky producers use 1000 watters!

[afss]

Might have something to do with how close you mount the bulb to the reflector.

Scott

[Daniel Schubert]

I know Dan used it as well and his 250 Watt MH melted the Mylar around the bulb area. The VHO's were okay

[Mineral]

I Think im just gonna paint the inside on the canopy "flat white"

i hear it's good, and its easy to do.

Thanx for all the replys =) :thanks: :thanks:

[bertcmg]

I used the reflective Duct tape ( Get the wider ones ) These are made for heating ducts so they are very good to use in a hood

I just stuck strips of it all over my canopy, My 400 w radium which looked blue and dark now looks very white and clear ( like AJ's tank pics )

I almost got rid of the 400 Radium on them being too dark until I did this

[Dman]

I'm pretty sure Toooloud is NOT using this mylar stuff in his canopy anymore!!
Bertmcg,
That aluminum duct tape is great on flourescent bulbs as well. I tape it to the top side to reflect the light down.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

YUP..

No more Mylar for me!!!

http://aquariacanada.com/PhotoPost/data/536/551Halidefire-med.jpg

[Myka]

You guys are wacko! Mylar is SO expensive! Just go to Wal-Mart in the camping section, they have these jackets they come in a tiny little package I think they are for keeping warm when you're lost or something. It looks just like mylar, but only costs $2.99 for the size of what would cost $50 in mylar. Also, the next best thing according to a study (can't remember the name of it) that studied reflective abilities rated mylar as #1 and "flat white paint" as #2. Mirror rated #3, tinfoil #4. Personally, I'd just use flat white paint.

That reflective duct tape idea sounds good...

Mindy

[psiico]

If that tape you're talking about is what I think it is, try polishing it with a felt wheel on a Dremel tool, it might make it more reflective, certainly more shiny. I covered a black paintball gun part with that stuff years ago and polished it up pretty shiny.