10 in Cube @ 2 and 1/2 weeks
- Thread starter wea747
- Start date
MrMexReefer
In Memoriam
post some more pics please 
do you have pics of the tank build? Im interested in keeping a 5 gal with your style lights... 
do you have pics of the tank build? Im interested in keeping a 5 gal with your style lights... 
YellowDesmo998
Premium Member
In the first pic you have the Coralife Mini light on the tank. I've been thinking about getting one for my son's 5gal as a FOWLR tank. How did you like it?
mister crabs
New member
what is your reflector made from? looks like mirror and if thats the case it wont do any good at reflecting light. better off with polished aluminum or even painting ccanopy white on inside.
NanoReefWanabe
Active member
light entering a mirror is refracted off the front edge of the glass...then travels through the glass to hit the mirror on the back side of the glass...
it is then reflected off at what ever angle the light was lucky enough to hit the mirrored surface at...
then it passes back through the glass and is again refracted by the front edge of the glass again before hitting the water surface, where it is again reflected and refracted by what ever angles the light is hitting at...
therefore light is being bounced off every possible angle at least four times before hitting the water...lossing considerable intensity and effectivness.
a white paint or reflective piece of metal only has one surface to reflect light and would only require one bounce or two to get back at the water surface..
that is why mirror is less effective at efficiently reflecting light...for aqaurium uses..
I'm not buying it, even after it refracts once on the way through and once on the way back, there is no way it has lost more intensity and effectiveness then what it would off a white surface. And even if it has lost quite a bit, the greater % reflected off the mirror surface in comparison to the white likely compensates.
ReeferGreg
New member
you're mistaken.
mirrors are poor reflectors compared to a flat white or polished aluminum surface.
mirrors are poor reflectors compared to a flat white or polished aluminum surface.
"A highly polished silver surface reflects about 95 percent of light that falls on it perpendicularly. An ordinary mirror, consisting of a sheet of glass silvered on the back, reflects about 90 percent."
Source
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003776/ingles/index.htm
I think I can handle the 5% loss compared to a polished silver surface, and I'd love to see proof of a white surface reflecting more then 90%. Even if white is 91-95%, I'm still a little confused as to how mirrors are poor reflectors? Just because the light slows down slightly by refraction and splits the colors up due to the differing frequencies does not mean there are huge losses. Plus I don't have a lense under my lights as most lights do. So even the stupidly low amount of light intensity I'm losing due to the refraction, most lose throught there lense so I wouldn't sweat it. If you have a stronger case for it I'd love to hear, but don't just throw out the word refraction and assume it means huge losses cause it doesn't, it just means the light slows down a bit and splits up, and given the speed of light I think a little slow down isn't gonna kill anything, and if it is, you better start a new thread telling every one to pull out there lenses cause they cause "HUGE" losses.
Source
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003776/ingles/index.htm
I think I can handle the 5% loss compared to a polished silver surface, and I'd love to see proof of a white surface reflecting more then 90%. Even if white is 91-95%, I'm still a little confused as to how mirrors are poor reflectors? Just because the light slows down slightly by refraction and splits the colors up due to the differing frequencies does not mean there are huge losses. Plus I don't have a lense under my lights as most lights do. So even the stupidly low amount of light intensity I'm losing due to the refraction, most lose throught there lense so I wouldn't sweat it. If you have a stronger case for it I'd love to hear, but don't just throw out the word refraction and assume it means huge losses cause it doesn't, it just means the light slows down a bit and splits up, and given the speed of light I think a little slow down isn't gonna kill anything, and if it is, you better start a new thread telling every one to pull out there lenses cause they cause "HUGE" losses.
