DIY light rail. 16ft long. Suggestions?

[atomic081]

Hey everyone, thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

I'm trying to create a sliding rail for above my light rack. The rack is 8ft long and hangs from the ceiling via chain. It will have 18 inch off the water, thus making it hard to access a 4ft wide tank. I need to move it aside to work in the tank and also do biannual maintenance on the lights.

I've been looking at barn rails but they seem ridiculously expensive for this. I will only use it 4 to 6 times a year max (but extremely important when I do use it)

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Urtoo]

Have you looked at aluminum slide rails?
I am thinking of the ones that you use for sliding glass doors on showers.
Maybe that would work, and you can get those extrusions stupid long if needed.

 

[X-37B]

I use T slot to move my ati light back out of the way when working on my tank. This is standard 1.5" t slot with the door slider insert. You may be able to adapt this to your system in a similar fashion.

 

[crusso1993]

Here is something you may find of value. Perhaps the systems will be more than you want to spend but maybe they'll give you some ideas.

LightRail® Light Movers | Indoor Grow Light Systems & Equipment

The science behind LightRail Light Movers - Plants need the energy of light to grow. The lamp-moving technology allows for more illumination in your garden.

www.lightrail3.com

 

[atomic081]

I'll give those all a look. This is a simple thing but I'm yet to find the perfect solution.

Thanks

 

[atomic081]

Just a update on this in case someone down the road finds this thread. I ended up getting a industrial curtain rack for under 150, much cheaper than the 400 i was looking at with a barn door hardware kit.