OP
OP
Here my motorized canopy frame, 80/20
Holding up two beastly Philips Coracares weighing around 32 lbs total.
It goes up ? Any video that’s interesting
80/20 aluminum floating light fixture
- Thread starter galantra
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It goes up ? Any video that’s interesting
R-balljunkie
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you are overthinking it. This stuff is strong enough to build aquarium stands. If you are building a rectangle to cover the tank size, aka canopy, your going to have cross supports inside the rectangle. Each time you add cross support, you make the rectangle stronger. obviously purchase enough to cover the basic perimeter , 30" x 60" and then add for the interior cross supports where you think you are going to need them to mount the lights. I also did not order every piece the same height. the frame is 2020 however theres 2040 extrusions so i could create one more plane to work with to mount the lights. hope this makes sense. here's what i bought to cover 24"x30"....go to there custom cut drop down, order 2x 2 meter (little over 6 ft) and then figure out the rest.
i have a bunch of pieces left over so below is more than you need but you need to add the 2 meter pieces to cover the length of your tank.
i have a bunch of pieces left over so below is more than you need but you need to add the 2 meter pieces to cover the length of your tank.
R-balljunkie
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Here's some build pictures to give you some ideas...i added a second CoralCare light a few months later....minimal changes to the frame, just added more T-slot screws.
If i ever wanted to upgrade my tank to a 5' tank...i'd purchase two more 5' 2020's and extend the same framework out.
If i ever wanted to upgrade my tank to a 5' tank...i'd purchase two more 5' 2020's and extend the same framework out.
SoggyNW
Active Member
Another alternative for a floating fixture is EMT conduit. I'm using 3/4 inch to support 3 hydra 26s over my 40b. I have it attached to the stand with uni-strut that is bolted all the way through the 2x4 legs of the stand. For me it's a much cleaner look that T slot and being steel I trust it more than aluminum.
Originally it was supporting a viparspectra 300w which is a pretty heavy fixture. 3/4was fine but if I had to go any heavier or span farther I would go with a bigger size.
Originally it was supporting a viparspectra 300w which is a pretty heavy fixture. 3/4was fine but if I had to go any heavier or span farther I would go with a bigger size.
R-balljunkie
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that looks awesome. great DIY!I did one made from glass.
It flips up to allow the wires to be passed down through the wall.
Dukereefnz
Active Member
What have you used as the telescopic lift?
Very cool, do you have nay more info available?
Thanks
Very cool, do you have nay more info available?
Thanks
I build stairs and I used an aluminum U channel made for a glass guardrail and turned it on its side. Then attached it to a piece of 3/4” walnut plywood connected to another piece of 3/4” plywood with a piano hinge and then anchored the whole thing to the studs in the wall.@flagg37 do you mind elaborating how you did this???
OP
OP
Can you help me out I need to get this started and I just feel lostyou are overthinking it. This stuff is strong enough to build aquarium stands. If you are building a rectangle to cover the tank size, aka canopy, your going to have cross supports inside the rectangle. Each time you add cross support, you make the rectangle stronger. obviously purchase enough to cover the basic perimeter , 30" x 60" and then add for the interior cross supports where you think you are going to need them to mount the lights. I also did not order every piece the same height. the frame is 2020 however theres 2040 extrusions so i could create one more plane to work with to mount the lights. hope this makes sense. here's what i bought to cover 24"x30"....go to there custom cut drop down, order 2x 2 meter (little over 6 ft) and then figure out the rest.
i have a bunch of pieces left over so below is more than you need but you need to add the 2 meter pieces to cover the length of your tank.
OP
OP
Bending the pipe was easy?Another alternative for a floating fixture is EMT conduit. I'm using 3/4 inch to support 3 hydra 26s over my 40b. I have it attached to the stand with uni-strut that is bolted all the way through the 2x4 legs of the stand. For me it's a much cleaner look that T slot and being steel I trust it more than aluminum.
Originally it was supporting a viparspectra 300w which is a pretty heavy fixture. 3/4was fine but if I had to go any heavier or span farther I would go with a bigger size.
OP
OP
makes me wonder if I should try and get to bent to hold the fixtureWell I'm an electrician so we have all the pipe bending toys at the shop. I think a hardware store will bend it for you. Or you could ask a local electrician nicely
suresh2989
Community Member
I am sorry for bumping an old thread, can you help me out what material you are using between the tank and stand?, I am building an acrylic tank and aluminum extrusion stand, i have some many questions regarding skinning and tank bottom.How much weight is your fixture and do you know what kind of ceiling joists you have?
I used lag bolts to affix 8020 to my ceiling joists, which is a very easy and clean way to hang lighting imo. It seems quite strong but admittedly my lights aren't heavy so I didn't stress about strength and I don't know what they are safely able to hold.
You can get simple lengths of 8020 cheaply from tnutz.com, and lag bolts from a big box hardware store like home depot.
My tank stand is also 8020. I got a few quotes for my stand but many suppliers either ignored me or said they had plenty of business due to covid and weren't interested in doing my tank stand project. 8020 was willing to quote based on my design but were not helpful consulting on the design. So I went with framing tech, and am very happy with the result. They weren't cheap but were a little cheaper than 8020 with better customer service.
My contact was Anthony: [email protected]
Thanks,
Suresh Kumar
fryman
Active Member
The tops are made of 1/2 in. HDPE, and there is also a squishy foam layer for leveling.
I'm not sure what the foam/mat material is honestly, it seems similar to those exercise mats at the gym or pool. In my understanding the mat is very important for a rimless tank in particular or you could eventually have a stress point leading to catastrophic failure. Not sure if it's needed for acrylic, probably not as critical but perhaps still not a bad idea
suresh2989
Community Member
Thanks so much for responding, I guess hdpe is doing the heavy lifting( if you’d pardon the pun) but I’ve read elsewhere foam layer is not needed for acrylic tanks.
hdpe is crazy expensive though .
arashirash
New Member
Hey brother. Whats holding those 80/20 that is mounted in the ceiling? Thank youHere my motorized canopy frame, 80/20
Holding up two beastly Philips Coracares weighing around 32 lbs total.
If you check my build thread you'll see what I did to hang 2x Photons. Not exactly 'high engineering', but it works. Sourced the extrusion and connectors from Amazon and cut it myself with a carbide toothed blade in my miter saw.
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R-balljunkie
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1/4" oversized flat steel plate, around 10"x10". Its actually designed to float up and down in case i overextend the canopy, no chance of damaging the tank....i've done it before.....the whole assembly will move as one, not rigid / fixed.
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