never saw anyone else do such so thought i'd share as it looks very neat. if this is old idea then just ignore.
i got this idea from watching some under ocean footage on tv of the kelp reef years ago. maybe others here have done this before but anyway, the beams of light and caustics, shadows on the surface moving with the waves above was very relaxing. so i mimic the idea in my aquarium using only aluminum foil.
so to cause shadowing and light rays (caustics) in the tank.
simply take some aluminum foil and cut it to the size of the plexiglass on the hood *top of plexi and under your light.* just lay it smoothly so it covers the plexi. cut a very few holes in it, experiment for taste but 1/4 inch holes every few inches apart works pretty well, start with one or two holes depending on length of tank and add or resize to liking. if your lights are bright like mine, more holes make less shadows and no rays. smaller holes spread out well causes some nice light beams but does dim your tank but i bet your fish wont mind, no one likes bright flourescents in their eyes
....anyway, when you lay the foil on top of the plexi, then the light over it as normal, the light is focused through the holes causing rays of light to beam into the water which also causes the ripples in the water to create shadows on the surfaces in the tank.
The aluminum foil never gets hot, well not enough to damage plexi, i use flourescent light but if your bulbs put out alot of heat, use your own judgement and check it after a few to make sure the heat isnt excessive under your light. I've done this for years and never any problems but again check how hot your bulbs are cause this will hold in a little more heat than normal in the space between light and aluminum foil.
The effect is very relaxing and adds some natural realism to it. if you cant picture it, then maybe you've seen the screensaver called "Sim Aquarium", all the ripples on the surface of the water are reflected onto the surfaces below.
this pic here is similar to what you can expect. Color light such as blue or green would look really nice as well. green light should look more like this pic but you get the idea
i got this idea from watching some under ocean footage on tv of the kelp reef years ago. maybe others here have done this before but anyway, the beams of light and caustics, shadows on the surface moving with the waves above was very relaxing. so i mimic the idea in my aquarium using only aluminum foil.
so to cause shadowing and light rays (caustics) in the tank.
simply take some aluminum foil and cut it to the size of the plexiglass on the hood *top of plexi and under your light.* just lay it smoothly so it covers the plexi. cut a very few holes in it, experiment for taste but 1/4 inch holes every few inches apart works pretty well, start with one or two holes depending on length of tank and add or resize to liking. if your lights are bright like mine, more holes make less shadows and no rays. smaller holes spread out well causes some nice light beams but does dim your tank but i bet your fish wont mind, no one likes bright flourescents in their eyes
....anyway, when you lay the foil on top of the plexi, then the light over it as normal, the light is focused through the holes causing rays of light to beam into the water which also causes the ripples in the water to create shadows on the surfaces in the tank.
The aluminum foil never gets hot, well not enough to damage plexi, i use flourescent light but if your bulbs put out alot of heat, use your own judgement and check it after a few to make sure the heat isnt excessive under your light. I've done this for years and never any problems but again check how hot your bulbs are cause this will hold in a little more heat than normal in the space between light and aluminum foil.
The effect is very relaxing and adds some natural realism to it. if you cant picture it, then maybe you've seen the screensaver called "Sim Aquarium", all the ripples on the surface of the water are reflected onto the surfaces below.
this pic here is similar to what you can expect. Color light such as blue or green would look really nice as well. green light should look more like this pic but you get the idea
