# Reflective White Paint For Hood Underside



## A Bull With Yogurts (16 Oct 2015)

Hi all,

I've decided that in order to maximise the light inside my tank I'm going to spray paint the underside of my tank hood. I've got an older Juwel Rio 400 (pre 2009) and the hood panels are made from fairly cheap and nasty black plastic. The surface is mottled so the paint should take pretty easily.

I'm looking at using Plasti-Kote Super Matt White Spray Paint which is only a fiver at Amazon.

Obviously it won't be beneath the water but, with the high humidity in the tank, it's inevitable that condensate will form on the paint and then drip back into the tank water. Therefore, I want to ensure it will not be toxic.

The manufacturer's product safety sheet doesn't appear to list any nasties. The EU dangerous substance classifications it has been assigned just relate to flammability, skin irritation and eye irritation during the application phase. However, I was just wondering if anyone more experienced could see a problem with using this.

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## ian_m (16 Oct 2015)

After trying and failing with various paints, didn't try Plasticote though, my mate used aluminium foil tape on the inside of his hood. Doesn't cost much at B&Q, is mirror finish and has been in his tank hood for years.

Something like this.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (16 Oct 2015)

Interesting...I'd have thought something fixed using an adhesive would have peeled off eventually, what with the humidity and all. Will investigate. Thanks.

BTW, what problems did you have with your various paints?


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## ian_m (16 Oct 2015)

A Bull With Yogurts said:


> BTW, what problems did you have with your various paints?


Basically the hood was aluminium and it is extremely difficult to get paint to stick to aluminium. I think it was normal cellulose paint and no specialist undercoat to cope with aluminium.

I think the key thing here is preparing the surface.

The aluminium tape is certainly damp/water proof as I have used it to seal the underside of work surfaces from steam escaping from our dishwasher, that was years ago and it is still there.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (16 Oct 2015)

ian_m said:


> Basically the hood was aluminium and it is extremely difficult to get paint to stick to aluminium. I think it was normal cellulose paint and no specialist undercoat to cope with aluminium.


 Ah right. My plastic hood flaps have been thoroughly cleaned and have a mottled surface. This paint should take to it without any problems I hope.


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## ian_m (16 Oct 2015)

Just make sure the paint doesn't attack the plastic first.

What about a reflective spray. There are others. Might need a protective coating to stop growing algae/mould.
http://www.albedo100.co.uk/


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## Tim Harrison (16 Oct 2015)

You could try aluminium paint...tho' I'd do a little research first to see if it's suitable, although I dare say someone here will probably know for sure.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (19 Oct 2015)

ian_m said:


> What about a reflective spray. There are others. Might need a protective coating to stop growing algae/mould.
> http://www.albedo100.co.uk/



Thanks for that. Looked at their website but unfortunately their FAQ says that the spray is not safe for aquatic organisms.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (19 Oct 2015)

Troi said:


> You could try aluminium paint...tho' I'd do a little research first to see if it's suitable, although I dare say someone here will probably know for sure.



Thanks for the suggestion. Did a bit of research and from what I've read metallic reflectors are a pretty poor choice as, despite looking very shiny, they only reflect a limited amount of light.


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## ian_m (19 Oct 2015)

Cant you fit reflectors, especially as it is a Juwel tank ?

One of my friends even put these on his non Juwel tank as they can easily be cut to the correct length.
http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/Pro.../HiFlex-438-mm-T5-24W-T8-15W-Refl-438-mm.html

They are a plastic U shaped supports that two strips of reflective mylar film is inserted into. Easy to clean as you can flip the film over to the other side if lazy and easy to remove to dip in descaler if they get scaled up.


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## dw1305 (19 Oct 2015)

Hi all, 





A Bull With Yogurts said:


> It's funny as most of the reading I did yesterday evening ended up being on the dope grower forums. It seems those guys have put A LOT of thought into getting the most out their lighting to maximise their crop.


I've found that. 

There is a lot of really good light information on "Hydroponic Tomato" grower sites. Problem is what do you type into google as a "search term"? 

I nearly typed "C*nnabis vegetative light spectrum" as a search term the other day at work, before I thought better of it.

cheers Darrel


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## A Bull With Yogurts (19 Oct 2015)

ian_m said:


> Cant you fit reflectors, especially as it is a Juwel tank ?
> 
> One of my friends even put these on his non Juwel tank as they can easily be cut to the correct length.
> http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/Pro.../HiFlex-438-mm-T5-24W-T8-15W-Refl-438-mm.html
> ...



Ah ha, didn't realise they existed. On the plus side the parabolic shape should focus the light downwards and they are definitely less hassle. Just a bit steep at 10 quid a pop though.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (19 Oct 2015)

dw1305 said:


> There is a lot of really good light information on "Hydroponic Tomato" grower sites.



Hydroponic tomato growers.


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## ian_m (19 Oct 2015)

A Bull With Yogurts said:


> Just a bit steep at 10 quid a pop though


But do the job @ £10. Compared to the old Juwel polished aluminium ones, the new ones have stayed reflecting as they don't tarnish and dirt/scale sticks a lot less.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (23 Oct 2015)

ian_m said:


> But do the job @ £10. Compared to the old Juwel polished aluminium ones, the new ones have stayed reflecting as they don't tarnish and dirt/scale sticks a lot less.



Will definitely keep these in mind. Decided to try a dirt cheap tube of titanium white acrylic paint first though since it was only £1.91. If I don't get a reasonable increase in the lux then I'll stump up for the parabolic reflectors.


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## A Bull With Yogurts (4 Nov 2015)

Well, just to update this thread, the benefit of the white paint is now a moot point because my old Juwel T8 lighting unit packed up this evening. I'm not messing around with a replacement Juwel T5 unit (especially considering they cost over 100 quid) so it looks like I'm going down the LED route.

Rather than take this one off topic I'll start a new thread to gather opinions on the best options. Would appreciate it if you would share yours. Thanks.


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