4 ft Hamilton metal halide T5 hanging ideas?

[Zero Nitrates]

Right I have my Hamilton metal halide fixture hanging from the ceiling. The chain I used is heavy duty stainless steel from Lowes. Probably overkill. I was worried about the weight. The fixture weighs 80lbs. The hooks in the ceiling are screwed into the floor joists, which is not lined up with the hooks on the fixture, so the chain is not straight up and down.

I am moving soon and want to have a more appealing way to mount or hang the light fixture.

Can I get some pictures and ideas of how you have your lights mounted or hanging?

Thanks
Kyle

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

plant hangers
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...2&ie=UTF-8#tbm=shop&q=cast+iron+plant+hangers

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Good idea! @saltyfilmfolks

 

[mcarroll]

And (unless Hamilton sells a hanging kit – several are available, so maybe call them?) use stainless steel "art wire" in place of the chain – good for +5 points to your tank's Charisma score. (Note: No bonus will allow any mortal tank to score over 18 on Charisma.)

Google for tips on using it. You can see how to wrap/tie it in this vid: Link

Fittings as well as more pre-fabricated wire art hangers are also available. Many weights are available.

People like to hang really big art and even for a simple painting the frames can weigh a lot.

OOK 50 lbs. 9 ft. Durasteel Stainless Steel Hanging Wire

Two 50 lbs wires hold 100 lbs.

They also make 100 lbs wire.

I've seen twisted ("steel cable") and braided. I don't think I'd use "solid core".

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Thanks @mcarroll !

That would definitely look better.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Well the fixture came with some mounting legs, which I've never used because I thought they were too close to the water about 3 inches.

I tried the mounting legs last night. They actually look pretty good but more importantly, the PAR readings are not off the chart.

The PAR at the bottom of the tank is 75-100, middle 125-150, top 200-300. Exactly where I want them. These readings are not much more than the readings when the light was hanging 7 inches off the water.

I am pleasantly surprised. I really felt like the PAR would be too high.

 

[Eggs]

I used bent conduit, painted black for my Hamilton fixture.
It's off in this picture, but I built a canopy that covers the gap between the top of the tank and bottom of the fixture because MH's brightness.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

I really like that @Eggs

 

[gus6464]

I did my floating canopy with the Giesemann Vervve hanging kit. Just put a cross beam in my ceiling so that the wire is straight. The wire on the eyelets are just 100lb wire from the hardware store. My canopy is quite heavy too as my light alone weighs 22lbs.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Crossbeam in the ceiling is a great idea!

 

[gus6464]

Crossbeam in the ceiling is a great idea!

Yeah the crossbeams are just 2x4's screwed in between the floor joists. The fixture isn't going anywhere if you do that. The screws the hanging kit comes with are short so I just used 3.5 inch ones to drill through drywall and 2x4. Then for some added insurance the little cylinder that you see in the ceiling is screwed on so I just used some red loctite.

 

[Xclusive Reef]

I used bent conduit, painted black for my Hamilton fixture.
It's off in this picture, but I built a canopy that covers the gap between the top of the tank and bottom of the fixture because MH's brightness.

what paint did your use to paint the conduit pipes? are those the electric conduit pipes?

 

[smh254]

I have vaulted ceiling so here's how I hung mine.