DIY Icecap...its not what you think

Re: can't find aluminum tape??

Re: can't find aluminum tape??

Fish_Freek said:
Some mentioned the use of aluminum tape on top of there bulbs to act as reflectors. Where did you buy it, HD?

Thanks,

Home Depot or any hardware store that sells duct work or heating pipe. (furnace stuff)
 
yes Hd is the place to get it. look in their heating and cooling section. it comes in like 12f rolls and 40 ish foot rolls. you will find it.look hard
 
Thanks for the quick replys. How wide is this tape? Do you apply the tape to the entire length and 1/2 the circomforence(sp) (180') of the light?

thanks,
 
no problem.
i run the tape the full length of the tube, about .5cm from the metal cap.
on a t8 bulb the tape is too wide to use as it comes. so i cut a little off to get a 180 deg reflector. just wrap around the bulb before you take the backing paper off, mesure, mesure again:) and then cut. make sure you get it on straigt the first time as this tape is extremely sticky and dosent like comming off bulbs as well as it does not unstick from itself.
cheers
Jonathan
 
Another aluminum tape question....

Another aluminum tape question....

Would you say you could use this tape as a hood reflector? Not running overdriven NO lamps. Running PC in a 7 gal nano and it would be awesome if I could tape the inside of the DIY hood I built. Never seen it before... I'll have to check this tape out. Oh, how much does it cost?
 
i think i paid about $20 canadian for the larger roll and there is allot on the role. in is not extremely reflective, more like a tinfoil finish. you may want to consider it ?
 
the stuff i got was in the duct section of HD.. it seems to be the perfect width for making a 180 degree reflector, and really seems to improve the bulbs penetration (atleast by eye.. not scientificaly). I got 40 feet for like 5 dollars or something like that. I would think for the inside of a hood you would be better off to paint it white or sky blue. I plan on trying the sky blue when ever i get around to having a hood:-)
I did try aluminum foil on my 29 gallon a few years back.. worked ok, but eventually it deteriorates to the point that it starts to flake off into the tank. I wouldn't recomend it, but what i did was to apply glue to the aluminum foil and then put it in place and squeege it out.. kinda like putting tint on a car window. Like I said it worked and looked good, but after about a year it started flaking.. too much upkeep to have to do it on a yearly basis.
Scott
 
it can be used to line the inside of a hood. I did this for my 37 gal planted fresh water tank if you go to my web page and click on it them the diy hood Ihave some pics.. they are a bit blury but they were taken befor I got my digital camera.

Steve
 
Victor,
Sorry I don't have any pics off-hand but I plan on taking some real soon, and I will post as soon as I get them taken. Once again thanks for the idea. Works better than I ever thought it would!
 
Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs...

Has anyone found the 6500k bulbs in HD or Lowes in the NorthEast?

I have looked in NJ, PA and CT and nothing. I have not seen the sylvania f32t8/D bulbs. The highest I have seen is 4100K.

I can get them online for 10.00 a bulb with shipping, and the local electrical houses don't stock them and require a case purchase.
 
GROSSR,
I feel your frustration.

I checked 9 HDs plus 3 Lowes plus 4 Ace Hardware stores plus 3 electrical supply houses in metro Atlanta.

Success happened when I checked with a company that specializes in lightbulbs. The electrical houses around here charge $13+ for a 6500K or $10/bulb if I bought a case, but I paid $4 for a Phillips 6500k at the speciality lightbulb store. :D

It takes just takes perserverence.

Bob
 
I will keep my chin up and try a few other supply houses. How many did you buy, being that it was so difficult to find?

I feel better that I am not the only one with this problem.

thanks
 
I checked at almost 7 different places. Could only find one who was willing to charge $15 a bulb. That's too expensive for a NO t8.
 
Put one of these together today Only going to need 2 bulbs Atinics for my MH. Haven't found F32T8 atinics yet. Just tested it with the 2 bulbs I got with my AGA strip light "Aqua Rays fresh & saltwater F40T12) by GE So I think that would be 2x using a 32t8x4 ballast with all the blue wires going to one lamp and all red to the other, with yellow going to both.Hard to tell the difference without something to compare it to. Did notice the bulbs seem to be a lot bluer How exactly do you test that wattage.
 
Phins
i have a actinic od 4x and one od 2x on my tank side by side.
the 2x is actually more blue but the 4x bulb is alot more intense.
to which one is better i dont know but i would have od the 2x one 4x but i didnt have the $ to buy another ballast.
 
Okay, I decided to jump in on trying this as well. Picked up a GE Instant Start ballast rated for 4x F32T8 among other configurations. I grabbed a 36" Hagen Actinic light for $15 or so and plan on trying it with that. It's only a 30g tank that I'll be using it for. Any recommendations for another "daylight" bulb to use it with? There were some GE bulbs I saw at Home Depot that were called Sunlight I think, and were rated at 5000K. They looked pretty darn blue in the display they had.

Any ideas if this ballast will run two 36" bulbs? I plan on doing the red to one and blue to the other....figuring somewhere realistically in the range of about 110-125 watts total??

Fred
 
I guess the bulb I picked up (MarineGlo) is a T10 bulb. Anyone know the differences between T8, T10 and T12? Will I be able to use this bulb with my ballast....and have it last a decent amount of time? If not, I'll take it back and look for T8 bulbs.

Fred
 
the differences between T8, T10 and T12 are diameter of the bulb, 12 is 1.5", T10 is 1.25" and T8 is 1". you should be fine with a T10.

Steve
 
Okay, because it doesn't say anything about its ability to be used with an instant start ballast. I'm going to give it a whirl and see what I come up with. I'll keep everyone posted!!

Fred
 
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