Diy light hanger. Need some ideas

[nokturnalkid]

I'm planning on doing a diy led fixture consisting of one heatsink or aluminum i-beam with 1 row of leds. This is going to be for my 6 gal, link can be found in my sig. I kind of want this to be as unobtrusive as possible, tank sit's on my kitchen counter. I also can not drill into the wall or cabinet above, it's a rental and I would like to get my deposit back.

This is what i was thinking. I will be using all aluminum for this build. I will have 2 L-shaped pieces, the same width as the tank, as my legs. Then, I will probably go with square tubing to go vertical maybe around 6-8 inches off the top of the tank. Then hang my lights/heatsink off of a horizontal piece, probably and L or square tubing. Drill some holes for some wire to hang them. I'm also thinking about not even hanging the fixture since it will have a dimmable power supply.

Anymore ideas? I also was trying to figure a way to either mount to the either the back of the tank or even just on the back glass, kind of how the archea fixtures are mounted. I really want to have the mounting system to be behind the tank(with nothing on the side to act as legs) but I am at a loss on how to counter wiegh the system since the lights will have to be in the middle of the tank(8.75" total depth).

[PlantedRich]

Idea to think over? How about running the support down the back of the tank to a flat piece slipped under the tank. The weight of the tank will hold the support solid and keep it from tipping. To keep the support as slim as possible and less obvious, stiff metal rods on each end?? All-thread covered with heat shrink tubing works for me.

[PlantedRich]

I suggested all-thread because it comes in different sizes so you can choose how strong it needs to be. It also has some advantages in working as the threads can be used to attach it without fussing with welding or other things that can get difficult. At the baseplate the all-thread can be fastened with a nut, lockwasher and washer on the bottom of the plate and the same on top so that it makes a "sandwich" of the plate.

[jcgd]

Easiest would be some 1/2" or 3/4" pipe in a horse shoe shape that nineties down behind the tank. A few pipe hangers bolted to the back of the stand will keep it off the tank about an inch and give you some room for any flex when you hang the light. That's if you are okay with round pipe.

A steel shop could do it in SS round or even square tubing, but it's hard to DIY with square. You need special dies instead of a hand bender.

Google a flick Osaka setup and they have a light hanger like I'm describing.

[nokturnalkid]

@rich - I was thinking about using the tank as a counterweight. I would probably have to get some kind of plate that is the same length but longer in width as the tank. Then build the arms off of that plate. That's the only way I can think of withput creating uneven spots under he tank.

@jcgd - No stand. Tank is on my kitchen counter.

[Hoppy]

This seems like the easiest way to do this.

[jcgd]

My bad. My next idea is the same as Hoppy's. You could use a piece of 1/4" sheet metal instead of the wood but you'd need to have the hanger welded to the base. You could move the tank around full though, if you wanted.

[PlantedRich]

Wood, steel, or a thicker aluminum plate would all work much the same. Depends on what you are best equipted and feel better working. One row of LED on aluminum is not going to be a real heavy item so it gets down more to what you like than what is needed for strength. A small tank doesn't really need full bottom support as long as the corners are all at the same level, so a sturdy strip of metal under the middle with the same height at each end would work if you want to cut the amount of metal at the base.
Working with wood is often easier so putting a 1" under the tank and gluing a section of 2X upright at the back would make a nice place to drill and fit the upright "arms" ?

Sounds like a cool project with lots of different ways to go.

[tentacles]

Here's what I'm using on my rimless 7g - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/li...ml#post1668567

It was just a quick and dirty job with stuff I already had on hand, with a little effort you could refine the design and make it look nicer. Those are 3w aquastyle bridgelux running at 450ma, the heatsink barely gets warm. It's some random 1/8x1" sheet I had kicking around.

[nokturnalkid]

I was contemplating hoppy's idea. Too bad I couldn't take all my tools wiith me when I moved. Been kicking around a few ideas. I'm thinking have 2 square tubing going up the back of the tank. Then a few bars running over the tank to hold the heatsink. The bottom would be a scrap piece of 2x4 or something the kind of "wedge" the uprights to the back the tank to the back of wall behind. The driver and surge protector would add as some counter weiht.

[Hoppy]

The problem with making "L" brackets is the joint between the two pieces. That has to withstand the bending load from what hangs from the horizontal member of the "L". Obviously welding is strong enough, but if you could weld, the whole project would be a snap.

[nokturnalkid]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

The problem with making "L" brackets is the joint between the two pieces. That has to withstand the bending load from what hangs from the horizontal member of the "L". Obviously welding is strong enough, but if you could weld, the whole project would be a snap.

It sucks that I could not bring all my tools with me when I moved across the Pacific.