Light lift, desk riser or pulleys and a winch?

Enderg60 · Jul 1, 2022

So I am building a tank and Id like to be able to raise and lower my lights. I have 28" of clear space to work with above the tank and Im looking for 14-16" of travel on the lights. Basically Id like to drop the lights to 6-8" above the tank, and then raise them up to 20" above the tank when I need to get in there.

I would love to grab a sit/stand desk frame and just use that but they are too tall to fit above the tank and have no room behind the tank. I tried to find a short version like a motorized monitor/tv lift but they too either wont fit or cant be mounted as needed.

My other option would be a pulley system with a winch.

So before I buy anything, anyone have any ideas I missed?

blaxsun · Jul 1, 2022

Without knowing the size of the tank and spaces we're talking about it would be hard to provide good suggestions, but here's a video that might give you a few ideas.

Enderg60 · Jul 5, 2022

I saw that and would love if it was that easy, but I dont have space behind the tank to put the legs and I only have 28" of vertical space to worth with.

Its a 84x30 foot print, Ill have 3 halides and some LEDs.

At this point Im looking at a pair of bike hoist things for your garage and a linear actuator to move it. Im just hoping there might be a less complex way to do it, or at least maybe info on good pulleys to use or a good actuator you can code or set stop limits on.

AlexG · Jul 5, 2022

Garage pully storage systems have shelfs that raise and lower which could be used for a light rack. Bike storage racks on a pully system could also be an option. I did consider these once but the only concern I had was having a safety system to make sure the light rack could not suddenly drop. I elected to just mount my lights higher on chains with weight rated snap hooks so I could move the rack up and down as needed. The only other caution I would consider is if you go with a motorized option I would not put any electric motors that have oil or grease in them above the open water of the aquarium.