Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yup that's exactly what I was thinking. I was also thinking instead of a weld I could just use set screws so that you could assemble/diss assemble it for transport ext. I have to ask though, why not just hang it from the ceiling? I was at Jons house last night and he has his halides suspended from the ceiling and it looks super clean IMO. It also has the added benefit of being super functional. I took a pick for you, let me fight with photo ucket some more and see if I can't get it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yup that's exactly what I was thinking. I was also thinking instead of a weld I could just use set screws so that you could assemble/diss assemble it for transport ext. I have to ask though' date=' why not just hang it from the ceiling? I was at Jons house last night and he has his halides suspended from the ceiling and it looks super clean IMO. It also has the added benefit of being super functional. I took a pick for you, let me fight with photo ucket some more and see if I can't get it up.[/quote'] Another possibility is that I just put extra wood that's wider than the overflow on the stand, so the hangers wouldn't have to go around the overflow. The room the tank is going in has 14 foot slanted ceilings, so it would be somewhat difficult to do and might look a little funky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Another possibility is that I just put extra wood that's wider than the overflow on the stand, so the hangers wouldn't have to go around the overflow. The room the tank is going in has 14 foot slanted ceilings, so it would be somewhat difficult to do and might look a little funky. I would think based on your setup that even with the slanted ceiling it would look better hanging. With metal halides you need to consider the weight over that long of a distance as well. It will likely start to bend holding two of them per bracket. I realize they are not too heavy but that long of a distance would be challenging. You also would be stuck to having a fixed mount when cleaning. With the hanging kit you can get pulleys to help with the raising and lowering. I would still do leds with as much effort that your doing on this tank but looking forward to seeing the build either way Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Another possibility is that I just put extra wood that's wider than the overflow on the stand, so the hangers wouldn't have to go around the overflow. The room the tank is going in has 14 foot slanted ceilings, so it would be somewhat difficult to do and might look a little funky. I was thinking you might have vaulted ceilings. It really shouldn't be to hard to bend the pipe around the overflow, it will be a little more work but considering how much time and effort you are putting into the rest of the build it will be well worth it. noob is correct that you will want to be able to move the lights out of the way, but I don't see why we couldn't just add extra height to the tubing an then attach the lights with yo yos the same way you would to a ceiling. Another option is that where the two pieces meet ( the set screw/weld connection behind the overflow) I could make it so that is swivels. Then you could just push the pipes with the lights out of the way if we use the 1.5" aluminum I don't think the weight of the lights will bend it, I don't really know how much they weigh though (I'm guessing not much)) also with the 1.5 we can run at leaste the cords from the first halide through the pipe giving it a clean look; well maybe not with the swivel, but I think I can still get it to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I was thinking you might have vaulted ceilings. It really shouldn't be to hard to bend the pipe around the overflow' date=' it will be a little more work but considering how much time and effort you are putting into the rest of the build it will be well worth it. noob is correct that you will want to be able to move the lights out of the way, but I don't see why we couldn't just add extra height to the tubing an then attach the lights with yo yos the same way you would to a ceiling. Another option is that where the two pieces meet ( the set screw/weld connection behind the overflow) I could make it so that is swivels. Then you could just push the pipes with the lights out of the way if we use the 1.5" aluminum I don't think the weight of the lights will bend it, I don't really know how much they weigh though (I'm guessing not much)) also with the 1.5 we can run at leaste the cords from the first halide through the pipe giving it a clean look; well maybe not with the swivel, but I think I can still get it to work [/quote'] I had stainless steel brackets for my 240 gallon and it was bending a bit with the weight of the T5 fixture. I realize it is heavier but it was stainless steel (much thicker than your aluminum I would guess). Rick used to work on boats so it was some left over brackets for a boat cover. Worked out great for the lighting. Just something to consider with your weight with that big if a distance over the tank. You would have to pull up my build thread to get a better picture of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I checked out youd thread, it's hard to tell what size the tubbing is though? I'm guessing 1" the wall thickness of the tube matters a lot too. I agree though that it is a risk running two lights on one but it will look so clean it's probably worth giving it a try ( if it does bend I expect it will be slow enough not to pose an immediate risk, I would just have to go back and make more) Guessing your fixture had the ballasts built into it as well making it weigh more, was it a heavy fixture? My first impulse was to use two hangers for each set so we are on the same page, if I can get away with one though I will be able to make them swivel otherwise Yo Yos will definitely be the only way. Oh man that make me realize I will have to adjust the height if it is too much weight.... LOL that should be pretty simple though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I checked the link but couldn't find the wieght of the pendent, if you have a little bathroom scale maybe you could weigh one of them. Once I know the weight I'm sure I can calculate if it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I checked out youd thread' date=' it's hard to tell what size the tubbing is though? I'm guessing 1" the wall thickness of the tube matters a lot too. I agree though that it is a risk running two lights on one but it will look so clean it's probably worth giving it a try ( if it does bend I expect it will be slow enough not to pose an immediate risk, I would just have to go back and make more) Guessing your fixture had the ballasts built into it as well making it weigh more, was it a heavy fixture? My first impulse was to use two hangers for each set so we are on the same page, if I can get away with one though I will be able to make them swivel otherwise Yo Yos will definitely be the only way. Oh man that make me realize I will have to adjust the height if it is too much weight.... LOL that should be pretty simple though.[/quote'] The fixture I had was quite heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 I checked the link but couldn't find the wieght of the pendent' date=' if you have a little bathroom scale maybe you could weigh one of them. Once I know the weight I'm sure I can calculate if it will work. [/quote'] I just did that before you posted this. Each pendant weighs 5lbs with glass, cord and bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 The fixture I had was quite heavy. The pendent I have weighs next to nothing, the ballast on the other hand... LOL (laugh) Mine is a 250 HQI but its a totally different brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 The fixture I had was quite heavy. I couldn't find a 12 bulb 48" t5 fixture, but the shipping weight of a 6 bulb fixture is 24.8 lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I couldn't find a 12 bulb 48" t5 fixture' date=' but the shipping weight of a 6 bulb fixture is 24.8 lbs It was the 6ft fixture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 It was the 6ft fixture So then it would be 35 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 So then it would be 35 lbs. I'm guessing your pendents only weigh 2-3 pounds, so like 6 pounds total. I think we will be ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 I just did that before you posted this. Each pendant weighs 5lbs with glass' date=' cord and bulb.[/quote'] I'm guessing your pendents only weigh 2-3 pounds' date=' so like 6 pounds total. I think we will be ok [/quote'] They weigh 5 lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 If there are studs in the wall behind the tank it might be easier to just anchor the bars into the walls and float them that way. You could still slide the fixture on and off, and you would not visually see the metal bars holding up the fixture. It would be a cleaner look IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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