AI Blade Mount

Black Dog Reefing · Sep 24, 2023

Hi all!

I recently purchased a set of 12” AI Blade Grows to pair with my 2 AI primes on my frag tank to combat shadowing. I had been looking around for a good mounting solution to use them along side the primes, but couldn’t find one. In my efforts, I noticed I wasn’t the only one struggling to get these lights mounted. I ended up going the DIY route and wanted to share what I did incase anyone else is looking for some inspiration!

I am a welder by trade so this was a relatively easy project for me to get done. I understand not everyone has access to a welder (I personally recommend picking up a cheap one and learning just enough to use it because they’ll absolutely pay for themselves just doing minor things around the house!)

I took 1” square tubing to make the mount itself and 1/8” flat bar as the brackets that hold the lights (all mild steel). I TIG welded everything together just because I’ve got one and it’s a bit stronger, but the same idea can be done with a >$500 MIG welder.

Here’s a few pictures and please let me know if there are any questions! I’d also be open to discussing making custom mounts if anyone has any unusual tank dimensions, lights, or interesting ideas they’re looking to try!

P.S. don’t mind the tank itself, I threw a couple frags in there just for testing purposes and two bags of biological media just to weigh down the rack until I move in more frags.

CasperOe · Sep 24, 2023

Looks good! There's a whole lot of lights on that tank now

Shadowing-or low PAR will not be an issue for you going forward

thatmanMIKEson · Sep 24, 2023

Black Dog Reefing said:
Hi all!

I recently purchased a set of 12” AI Blade Grows to pair with my 2 AI primes on my frag tank to combat shadowing. I had been looking around for a good mounting solution to use them along side the primes, but couldn’t find one. In my efforts, I noticed I wasn’t the only one struggling to get these lights mounted. I ended up going the DIY route and wanted to share what I did incase anyone else is looking for some inspiration!

I am a welder by trade so this was a relatively easy project for me to get done. I understand not everyone has access to a welder (I personally recommend picking up a cheap one and learning just enough to use it because they’ll absolutely pay for themselves just doing minor things around the house!)

I took 1” square tubing to make the mount itself and 1/8” flat bar as the brackets that hold the lights (all mild steel). I TIG welded everything together just because I’ve got one and it’s a bit stronger, but the same idea can be done with a >$500 MIG welder.

Here’s a few pictures and please let me know if there are any questions! I’d also be open to discussing making custom mounts if anyone has any unusual tank dimensions, lights, or interesting ideas they’re looking to try!

P.S. don’t mind the tank itself, I threw a couple frags in there just for testing purposes and two bags of biological media just to weigh down the rack until I move in more frags.

hard to tell what's going on, it would look good if you could light up the lights, or flash on the camera so we can see exactly how all the mounting and lights are oriented.

Black Dog Reefing · Sep 24, 2023

CasperOe said:
Looks good! There's a whole lot of lights on that tank now

Shadowing-or low PAR will not be an issue for you going forward

that was the goal! the SC Orange Passion frag in there has a good bow on it and there’s not a single polyp not lit up even at the base. loving it so far!

Black Dog Reefing · Sep 24, 2023

thatmanMIKEson said:
hard to tell what's going on, it would look good if you could light up the lights, or flash on the camera so we can see exactly how all the mounting and lights are oriented.

I had also attached a video that showed a little more but sadly it didn’t upload. I’ll get some better lit pictures tomorrow when I get home! My goal was to keep as much hidden as possible and give a sleek look without being overly complex so at least it’s nice to here at first glance everything’s not too noticeable haha.

Black Dog Reefing · Sep 24, 2023

thatmanMIKEson said:
hard to tell what's going on, it would look good if you could light up the lights, or flash on the camera so we can see exactly how all the mounting and lights are oriented.

The flat bar is dropped down for the square tubing 1/4” to allow for airflow. The flat bar on the sides has 3 holes on each side, 1 at either end to accommodate the m8 bolt to hold the blades, and 1 in the middle for the m5 bolt holding the primes. this makes the primes oriented sideways. there is a small notch below the hole for the primes to account for the cord. I’ll try to get some better pictures but I hope that answered at least a few questions!