How can I increase the brightness?

[Tazzy_toon]

I'm just wondering how I can increase the brightness of my tank without spending a ton of money.

There is no way I can buy more lighting. Hubby and I aren't working right now. I'm not worried about the plants so much because I have low light types like jave fern, java moss, crypt, elodia and oak leaf watersprite/indian fern ( at least I think that's the name)

Problem is, is that I have a 33g tank that is 18 high and stock 17w lighting, so the tank looks kinda dull. I've seen people post that they are selling reflectors, do those help? Could I just tape some tin foil behind the bulbs?

I also wondered if it would be a cheap fix just to get a piece of glass/acrylic to put the light over? Or would that create other problems?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

Debi

[er201]

You can buy a desk lamp or one of those reptile lamps and use some cfl bulbs. It`s a cheap way to add more lighting to the tank.

[Gregzz4]

I need to learn how to use quotes

[Tazzy_toon]

The reason I suggested a glass lid, was to disperse the light better, I just thought perhaps the black canopy could somehow be blocking the light.

Is there a way to diy reflectors?

[tony1928]

Getting rid of the black canopy should help a bit. I'm thinking even just using foil to make the back of the light more reflective will work. Is it currently fluorescent?

[Gregzz4]

First, I don't understand your post about glass and acrylic as they both block light.
Second, tinfoil may be an option if you are short on cash. Only way it will help without causing you problems is if it is not blocking the heat convection of your light fixture.
Light reflection is an art. The areas around your bulb are what matters.
Trying to create the reflective values of a reflector inside your fixture are kinda difficult.
Using tinfoil is mostly useless. Have a look at how most individual bulbs are housed in the expensive fixtures.
Now I don't want to put a dampter on your aspirations, but you mostly cannot work with cheap lighting to create better lighting.

[Tazzy_toon]

Thanks for everyones responses.

I currently have a 24" t8 natural daylight bulb.

Greg, you are not putting a damper on my aspirations, I appreciate your honesty. However, a person has to work with what they have. And i'm just trying to figure out how to do that.

It would be wonderful if I had the means to "do it right" but I don't, so I am just hoping that the wonderfully creative and resourceful people of this site can help me out. If not, well, then that's ok too I will look into the cost of reflectors and if they are reasonalbe, i'll go that route, if not I'll try the tinfoil or maybe just extra desk light as er201 suggests.

Thanks again.

[jbyoung00008]

I agree with the post above. Adding glass or plexi makes it less bright. Also tinfoil is not a good reflector. You can buy actual reflector paper at a hydroponics store. It comes in silver or white. The problem with flourecent tube lighting is compared to new lighting T5, T8, CFL etc is flourecents are old technology. There isnt much you can do to make it brighter to the eye. They do make different types of bulbs for your unit. Sunglow or Powerglow are 2 options I can remember. Some fish stores show all the different bulbs on display so you can try to find one that suits your needs. I just converted my dads old 33g flourecent lid to a Coralife T5 strip light. It was a huge change and around $75 for light and lid. I recomend the switch it is well worth it. Your plants will love it too.

[Tazzy_toon]

ok, the confussion with the glass, is that I don't want to "add" glass, I want to "replace" the black canapy with a slab of glass to expand the amount of light that can get into the tank.

While I appreciate the suggestion of a t5 strip. I'm looking for a solution for under $20. When my bulb burns out, I will be hopefully replacing it with a better t8 bulb, but even they are over %$20. Oh well. It is what it is. I'll just make due.

Thanks

[Gregzz4]

Basically, you cannot increase your lighting with what you have.
You cannot increase your reflective surfaces. And you cannot increase your PAR.
If you need to increase the amount of light that your canopy puts out, you must change your canopy.