8020 Light Mount Help

[HooliganGunner]

I'm currently working on a 10ft long, 3ft wide, 30inch deep tank setup and need to get my lights situated! Got a couple issues though, main one being I wanted space in my stand for plumbing and sump maintenance so my stand is 40 inches tall, and my ceilings are 8ft, meaning I have just about 2 ft to access into the tank. I need to design this to where my lights will be easily movable out of the way if I need to get into the tank. Cant do flip up, want something that wont require unplugging of any lights, but I am lost and cant think of a simple way of designing this.

I think the lights will need to be about 20-21 inches from the wall, and I am 99% sure I am going to be using more Hydra edge 68 lights, I currently have 3 on my 180 gallon and will probably get another 3-5 for this tank

 

[That Crusso Kid]

I'm currently working on a 10ft long, 3ft wide, 30inch deep tank setup and need to get my lights situated! Got a couple issues though, main one being I wanted space in my stand for plumbing and sump maintenance so my stand is 40 inches tall, and my ceilings are 8ft, meaning I have just about 2 ft to access into the tank. I need to design this to where my lights will be easily movable out of the way if I need to get into the tank. Cant do flip up, want something that wont require unplugging of any lights, but I am lost and cant think of a simple way of designing this.

I think the lights will need to be about 20-21 inches from the wall, and I am 99% sure I am going to be using more Hydra edge 68 lights, I currently have 3 on my 180 gallon and will probably get another 3-5 for this tank

A tank of 30' with a stand at 40" puts you at 70", obviously, with a total ceiling height of 96". That leaves you 26" of access to the tank. Far be it from me to say what's good or bad but having 14" to access your tank will probably be a bad thing. I would suggest creating a 26" space, out of carboard or something, and then try working in it. At least, this will give you some idea about the limited amount of space.

 

[HooliganGunner]

A tank of 30' with a stand at 40" puts you at 70", obviously, with a total ceiling height of 96". That leaves you 26" of access to the tank. Far be it from me to say what's good or bad but having 14" to access your tank will probably be a bad thing. I would suggest creating a 26" space, out of carboard or something, and then try working in it. At least, this will give you some idea about the limited amount of space.

Yeah I'm heavily debating knocking 10" off the stand, will probably do a custom sump so I can just make that lower and wider to make maintenance inside of it easier. Just really don't want to disassemble it but I feel like I have no choice. My 180 is on a 30 inch stand and I hate working inside it

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Yeah I'm heavily debating knocking 10" off the stand, will probably do a custom sump so I can just make that lower and wider to make maintenance inside of it easier. Just really don't want to disassemble it but I feel like I have no choice. My 180 is on a 30 inch stand and I hate working inside it

A length of 120" with a width of 36" gives you some really good options for your sump.

As previously suggested, try making some carboard boxes for experimenting with the different access sizes. You might find that a stand of 36" will work well.

 

[HooliganGunner]

Yeah actually I am going to knock 10" off the stand. My current stand isnt god awful now that I think about it that I need to trade my tank access space for under tank space, and this new footprint gives me a lot more space with my removable tank skins to gain extra access if I need it. Either way I still need help making something to make the lights easily movable out of the way

 

[That Crusso Kid]

BTW - in case you are not familiar, check out https://www.zyltech.com/ for aluminum extrusion. They also sell linear motion parts. You will find it is less expensive than 80/20 and will serve the same function for hanging your lights.

 

[X-37B]

This is my current 60×30×21.
Lights are 14" above the surface.
Plenty of room to work in the tank and I can slide them back out of the way if needed.

 

[HooliganGunner]

Here is a top view (not drawn to scale) of what I was thinking. Just not sure engineering side how this would work. If I stick with the Hydra Edge 68s and run 2 per arm thats only about 10lb of weight at the end of the 20" arms which calculates to less than .1inches of deflection. Just unsure if I should go heavier duty with the T slots or if the 2020 will work fine, and then what to use for the hinges. If I were to go with the 3030 they dont carry the pivot hinges in that size

 

[RocketEngineer]

Consider bracing. I have big bracing pieces to support mine. The bar at the end lets me move things as needed. Just a reference to give you ideas.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Here is a top view (not drawn to scale) of what I was thinking. Just not sure engineering side how this would work. If I stick with the Hydra Edge 68s and run 2 per arm thats only about 10lb of weight at the end of the 20" arms which calculates to less than .1inches of deflection. Just unsure if I should go heavier duty with the T slots or if the 2020 will work fine, and then what to use for the hinges. If I were to go with the 3030 they dont carry the pivot hinges in that size

There are a lot of aluminum pivot hinge options out there. Most of them are for door use and would work well for you.

You could also make it so that the whole unit can slide to the left or to the right or both depending on how much money you want to spend. This could be accomplished using rails and linear motion using rails or rods.

 

[HooliganGunner]

Got the stand shortened last night just need to make adjustments to my skins for it now! Crazy difference 7 inches makes and still leaves me good room under the tank for my sump