Aquarium light diffuser?

[domingo3]

Not sure if I've got the right term here. I had an aquarium light that had a single fluorescent tube in it. The ballast was bad in it, so I gutted the light fixture and replaced the insides with two standard screw in light sockets and put in compact fluorescent spiral bulbs. The aquarium is nice and bright now, but I don't think the lighting does the best at making the fish look good.

You know how your hand looks if you put it over a flashlight? That's what my dwarf gourami looks like under the light. Is there a good material to put between my bare lights and the aquarium that will make it look better? I was thinking about just getting the hazy plastic stuff that is typically in buildings where there's a bunch of fluorescent tubes in the ceiling and trying to cut it to size and see if I can attached to the fixture. Is there anything that's cheaper/easier/better?

Thanks for reading. I could have probably made it a lot more concise if I knew the right words to use.

[Sarkazmo]

I think what you're looking for is a reflector.

You can either paint the area behind the bulbs a bright, high gloss white or glue in some shiny mylar or even wad up some aluminum foil, unwad, then glue in place.

Sark

EDIT: If you put something between the lights and the water to diffuse the light you'll lose a great deal of the light intensity.

[LurkingGrue]

I was thinking about just getting the hazy plastic stuff that is typically in buildings where there's a bunch of fluorescent tubes in the ceiling and trying to cut it to size and see if I can attached to the fixture.

They sell sheets of this diffuser material at Home Depot in the lighting section, its pretty inexpensive and not too tough to cut/break to size .

Is there anything that's cheaper/easier/better?

If the light doesn't get too warm you could try several sheets of wax paper, or even regular paper although that may dim the light too much or trap too much heat . A scrap piece of plastic or acrylic could be frosted on one side using coarse sandpaper or anything scratchy . Or frosting spray that comes in rattle cans at the hardware store for about $5 . :ssmile:

[domingo3]

OK. Thanks. I'll try both.