Options for electronic or manual light lift?

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I've been searching for a way to lift lights above my tank.

Anyone got some good ways/gadgets to do this?

 

[Doctorgori]

I’m using tv mounts but those plant yoyo’s work good
: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010PYWCX8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_80oZFbZWA097

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Thats look good.

Any electronic options anybody?

I was also looking for a thin steel wire option, so its hard to see.

Maybe use an old Penn reel?

 

[Doctorgori]

just conversations; but isn’t there a thicker monofilament line like what they use for Saltwater fishing? Not sure what test, but isn’t 50lb available?
Anyway, wonder if small electric winches/motors are manufactured somewhere.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

For sure mono. I found very expensive light winches for movie studios. Super nice but like $5k. Theres got to be $500 option?

I think i want steel just because super thin and if you see it, its not plastic.

 

[Doctorgori]

again just shooting the breeze here but could a small truck winch be rigged/modified I wonder?

 

[Max_nano]

I’ve seen some builds using sit stand desk motors. Parker’s reef on YouTube has some videos on his setup that uses one. Those desks aren’t too expensive so you can take one apart for the motor or maybe reach out to order just the motor.

 

[Brett S]

For what it’s worth, I wonder how useful this would actually be. My lights are mounted to my wall about 8.5 inches above the water line and I haven’t encountered any situations where I needed to have the lights moved out of the way in the nearly 5 years that the tank has been running.

There have certainly been a few times where it might have been nice to be able to move the lights up a bit, but for me, at least, they certainly don’t occur often enough that it would be worth spending hundreds of dollars on a lift system.

If that’s something that you really want, then more power to you, but I wonder how often something like that would really wind up getting used.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

For what it’s worth, I wonder how useful this would actually be. My lights are mounted to my wall about 8.5 inches above the water line and I haven’t encountered any situations where I needed to have the lights moved out of the way in the nearly 5 years that the tank has been running.

There have certainly been a few times where it might have been nice to be able to move the lights up a bit, but for me, at least, they certainly don’t occur often enough that it would be worth spending hundreds of dollars on a lift system.

If that’s something that you really want, then more power to you, but I wonder how often something like that would really wind up getting used.

That's true.

But in my setup i have flat screen tv mounted on a hinged wall mount. The tv is on a corner near, the aquarium.

The idea is to be able to turn off the lights to the tank, raise the lights out of the way, and then swing the tv over the aquarium.

It's a peninsula tank--dividing two rooms-- and being able to raise the lights out of the way would let me watch a movie/tv in either two room just by raising the lights and swinging the tv over the aquarium.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

again just shooting the breeze here but could a small truck winch be rigged/modified I wonder?

They could. Its a cheaper option. I like it! Especially if i can just remove the heavy cable and use light steel cable!

I'll explore!

 

[VikS]

I would be interested in this option if you figure it out.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

So i decided to go with an electric motorized standing desk frame kit.

I chose the white color though. The idea is to mount this on the ceiling, hanging down, and then have it raise and lower the light with the built in remote (with 4 presets saved already!). With my 9 foot (104 inches) ceilings (and the top rim of my aquarium at 64 inches (stand at 42 inches high, and my tank height adding another 22 inches), and the minimum height of the motorized frame at about 24 inches--i'll have about 20 inches of adjustment from the top of the tank upwards. Hope i did that math right! lol

That sees pretty good and slick and motorized. It should be just enough room to squeeze a decent sized (for the room size) TV underneath with the light full raised, if i want, or i'll find a different spot for the TV.

All and all after weighing available options, this just seems the simplest and most cost effect way to raise lights with a motor for any one looking into it.... And i did!! lol.

Let me know if anyone has any ideas on finalizing the construction?

My present thought is just connect the t5 fixture with Kessil 360's surrounding it pointing down and in. Then put a piece of PVC trim board all the way around the fixture, so as to hide the lights, electronics, and reduce light spill.

Something like this:

 

[rgulrich]

Looks like you've go it solved, but if you ever go back into the design mode - here's the lift approach I took using four linear actuators and a T-slot (80/20) support.

Granted, this reef is a 360' walk-around and not a peninsula build, but with a little imagination, some planning, and a little patience you can put together pretty much anything for a solution.

Cheers,
Ray

 

[Justin Thibodeaux]

Looks like you've go it solved, but if you ever go back into the design mode - here's the lift approach I took using four linear actuators and a T-slot (80/20) support.

Granted, this reef is a 360' walk-around and not a peninsula build, but with a little imagination, some planning, and a little patience you can put together pretty much anything for a solution.

Cheers,
Ray

Can you provide details on your linear actuators? What brand or company did you get them from? Also, are they quiet like the ones used for stand up desks? Love your setup!!!

 

[rgulrich]

@Justin Thibodeaux - Hey Justin, I picked up the linear actuators used in this build from https://www.firgelliauto.com/

They've been very responsive, and should be able to help you out with your ideas if drop'em a note. While my particular actuators aren't all that quiet, I only use them once or twice a day a few times a week, if that. Usually it's a matter of having to get something into the reef (placing a new frag or a bringing in a fish) or remove something (a coral colony or some such). So noise really wasn't one of my determining criteria - function was.

Thanks for the compliment! It was lots of drawings, research (search engines, email, and phone calls are your friends!), and determination to get it to where I felt it would be stable, support the weight, and more than anything else, be able to raise the lights out of the way so I could access the reef from anywhere around the aquarium. The support on the "left" side of the aquarium is a 2 X 4 lag bolted to two wall studs. This provides stability and anti-torqueing. This allows me to use the ceiling trusses for main weight support, and I "over engineered" to support more weight than planned.
If you have any questions on how to approach a build like this, please don't hesitate to ask. It was fun!

Cheers,
Ray

 

[Justin Thibodeaux]

@Justin Thibodeaux - Hey Justin, I picked up the linear actuators used in this build from https://www.firgelliauto.com/

They've been very responsive, and should be able to help you out with your ideas if drop'em a note. While my particular actuators aren't all that quiet, I only use them once or twice a day a few times a week, if that. Usually it's a matter of having to get something into the reef (placing a new frag or a bringing in a fish) or remove something (a coral colony or some such). So noise really wasn't one of my determining criteria - function was.

Thanks for the compliment! It was lots of drawings, research (search engines, email, and phone calls are your friends!), and determination to get it to where I felt it would be stable, support the weight, and more than anything else, be able to raise the lights out of the way so I could access the reef from anywhere around the aquarium. The support on the "left" side of the aquarium is a 2 X 4 lag bolted to two wall studs. This provides stability and anti-torqueing. This allows me to use the ceiling trusses for main weight support, and I "over engineered" to support more weight than planned.
If you have any questions on how to approach a build like this, please don't hesitate to ask. It was fun!

Cheers,
Ray

Wow thanks for taking the time to provide such a detailed response! I'll be sure to reach out if I have any questions once I get started

 

[biecacka]

@Mywifeisgonnakillme, how did this end up working out for you?


corey

 

[Duzzy]

Here are a few I looked at im still looking at options the cables worry me when my frame will be 9ft x 3ft over a 10 x 4 tank carrying thousands in lights. The Parker’s one is good but too heavy I’m speaking to some engineers and fitters I’m thinking hydrolics from the roof.

regards Duzzy

Parker’s Reef