Oldie but a Newbie here with a lighting question!

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

I had a 180 salt water fish tank many, many moons ago (20 years) and my how things have changed. I'm setting up a mixed reef tank in a 90 cube. Any great custom ideas for hanging lights? We have pretty high ceilings in the room and would rather not have the wires running so long. The problem is that with the 90 cube (30x30), and 7 inches from the wall, I would need a hanger of some sort that is 22 inches long in order to get to the middle of the tank. We considered a nice driftwood shelf or something like that...any ideas. Any pictures would be a bonus! Thanks in advance.

Havoks · Jun 25, 2017

This is an aluminum rod from home depot and the hanging kit the lights came with, clips to keep them from sliding in the rod and rubber end caps on the rod.

Brew12 · Jun 25, 2017

Shadowspop said:
I had a 180 salt water fish tank many, many moons ago (20 years) and my how things have changed. I'm setting up a mixed reef tank in a 90 cube. Any great custom ideas for hanging lights? We have pretty high ceilings in the room and would rather not have the wires running so long. The problem is that with the 90 cube (30x30), and 7 inches from the wall, I would need a hanger of some sort that is 22 inches long in order to get to the middle of the tank. We considered a nice driftwood shelf or something like that...any ideas. Any pictures would be a bonus! Thanks in advance.

Do you like working with wood? Not sure how heavy your lights are, but you could make something like this. I would probably use 2"x2" oak.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 25, 2017

You could create a hanger from electrical conduit and paint black or white to your needs. I attached a 2x4 to the back of my stand and drilled a hole for the conduit. Then use a stainless bandclamp to hold the height on the conduit. The plus to this way is that the light is adjustable by loosening the bandclamp and moving up or down. You can also zip tie the power cord to the hangers so it's clean and no wires hanging. Depending on the plug style into the light, it's also possible to run the wiring through the conduit and have it totally hidden. Here's how I did it on my 80 shallow. What type of light are you looking to hang? Just curious as weight may be an issue with a 22" extension. I have an SB reeflight led at 13" overhang and no sagging.

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

ReeferMaddness843 said:
You could create a hanger from electrical conduit and paint black or white to your needs. I attached a 2x4 to the back of my stand and drilled a hole for the conduit. Then use a stainless bandclamp to hold the height on the conduit. The plus to this way is that the light is adjustable by loosening the bandclamp and moving up or down. You can also zip tie the power cord to the hangers so it's clean and no wires hanging. Depending on the plug style into the light, it's also possible to run the wiring through the conduit and have it totally hidden. Here's how I did it on my 80 shallow. What type of light are you looking to hang? Just curious as weight may be an issue with a 22" extension. I have an SB reeflight led at 13" overhang and no sagging.

Currently have a 24" Giesemann, so pretty heavy. Most likely going to a smaller profile (Radion style) soon. I like this option, just not sure it will support the weight at 22".

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

Brew12 said:
Do you like working with wood? Not sure how heavy your lights are, but you could make something like this. I would probably use 2"x2" oak.

That's pretty nice looking. I'm not that skilled with woodworking, but surw I can find someone who is.

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

Havoks said:
This is an aluminum rod from home depot and the hanging kit the lights came with, clips to keep them from sliding in the rod and rubber end caps on the rod.

That looks pretty nice, but trying to keep it from.the ceiling.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 25, 2017

Shadowspop said:
Currently have a 24" Giesemann, so pretty heavy. Most likely going to a smaller profile (Radion style) soon. I like this option, just not sure it will support the weight at 22".

I agree. That may be a stretch to support at that distance from the center. I haven't done it, but I'd be curious if you could find a way to core the conduit maybe with a piece of rebar before bending to not allow for a sag in the angle portion. I would say if you did that, I would definitely cap the ends to keep salt from getting into the conduit and allowing the rebar to rust.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 25, 2017

Another option would be to do the electrical conduit from left to right in a "U" then hang from center? Not my pic, but attached a link to the thread where they built this style.

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_EMT_lightstand.aspx

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 25, 2017

And when I built mine, i "rented" the bender from Home Depot. Just used it to make the light hangers and returned saying I found mine. Hehe

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

ReeferMaddness843 said:
Another option would be to do the electrical conduit from left to right in a "U" then hang from center? Not my pic, but attached a link to the thread where they built this style.

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_EMT_lightstand.aspx

I think this might work better for a long tank, but for my cube, I would have the post running right up one if the front facing sides. The tank is situated in the corner of the room.

cmcoker · Jun 25, 2017

I used a dual monitor mount from amazon. My lighting is a diy led, using 2 12" makersled heatsinks, they are pretty heavy. I can swing them back out if the way if I need to, like in the attached pic when I was swapping a leaky tank.

Shadowspop · Jun 25, 2017

cmcoker said:
I used a dual monitor mount from amazon. My lighting is a diy led, using 2 12" makersled heatsinks, they are pretty heavy. I can swing them back out if the way if I need to, like in the attached pic when I was swapping a leaky tank.

That's a cool set up, definitely something to consider...sorry about the leaky tank, that kinda sucks.