Any 80/20 T slot guru willing to help an newb out?

[exnisstech]

Disclaimer: I have never worked with t slot. In fact I saw it and touched it for the first time when my new stand arrived a few days ago.
I'm designing a light mount to go over a new build. I'm thinking 15 series T slot but am open to suggestions. I want to attach 2 vertical pieces to wall studs behind the tank. I think I should be able to drill the T slot to attach it? Then I want 2 horizontal pieces to extend over the tank. I want to be able to raise and lower the horizontal pieces to adjust the height as needed. Then I want 2 horizontal pieces under the first 2 to support the lights. I want these pieces to be able slide for and aft as needed. What I need help with is what fasteners I need to assemble all of this. I struggled with legos so all the different fasters and terminology at 80/20dot net has me lost. I've attached a crude drawing with some notes and would greatly appreciate anyone who can tell me what hardware I need to assemble this.

 

[boacvh]

@Reefer Reboot is your man. He designed my lights and a few others

 

[DanyL]

I designed an adjustable 3D printed fasteners for a 2040 profile to that attach to my 3030/3060 stand.

The 3 pieces I 3D printed are made of about 600 grams worth of PETG with 100% infill, the amount of screws and fasteners turned out to be a complete overkill, and I could go away with 2 fasteners and 4 screws each, but I used it all only because I already had all the parts made this way.

Haha thank you!


We're only 9,140 km (5,680 miles) apart from each other


That's a good plan.
As I suggested earlier - if your consumption rate isn't high yet, you can probably cope with weekly water changes alone for now.

A good way to calculate the amounts needed as a baseline for daily dosage is to use this calculator here.


Yes, indeed it is.
I built my stand and light mounts from modular profiles with the intent to give it an industrial look.
It is an upside down "L" shaped arm made of 2 2040 profiles which connects to the 3030/3060 profiles the stand was built from using custom 3D printed fasteners I designed.

Here are a few shots from when I built this setup last year, it was supposed to be posted as an update for my build thread, but I got a a bit busy at the time and ended up never posting it.

 

[rhitee93]

I'm not an 80/20 guru, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

For your corner gussets I'd uses these unless the lights are heavy, or your horizontal pieces sticking out from the wall are overly long: (If so I'd make gussets from the extrusion.)
https://8020.net/fasteningmethods/e...allgussetedinsidecornerbracket/15-series.html

The easiest way to mount the horizontals running parallel to the wall are these on either side of the arms, but there may be a more elegant way:
https://8020.net/fasteningmethods/e...etsgussetscorners/standardcornerbrackets.html

 

[shakacuz]

@Reefer Reboot is your man. He designed my lights and a few others

second this! he helped me with my stand design.

 

[Colt13]

you can attach it to the wall using corners like this

 

[exnisstech]

you can attach it to the wall using corners like this

Hmm this might be better than my original plan in the drawing. Would be much less material needed and I could install it after the tank is set. I just wonder if it the anchor points would be strong enough. I haven't gotten exact measurements yet but the tank is 84" long and 30" deep front to back so the lights will be hanging out there quite a distance. Also most likely have two rows of lights consisting of noopsyche k7 V3 and gen 4 radion xr15 since I already have those lights. I suppose if needed I could add a short vertical piece on the wall to increase the holding strength.

 

[Colt13]

Hmm this might be better than my original plan in the drawing. Would be much less material needed and I could install it after the tank is set. I just wonder if it the anchor points would be strong enough. I haven't gotten exact measurements yet but the tank is 84" long and 30" deep front to back so the lights will be hanging out there quite a distance. Also most likely have two rows of lights consisting of noopsyche k7 V3 and gen 4 radion xr15 since I already have those lights. I suppose if needed I could add a short vertical piece on the wall to increase the holding strength.

you could still do 2 vertical pieces, just use the corners to mount them to the wall (so just rotate the 8020 in the pic 90 degrees)

 

[areefer01]

You can actually email 8020inc, describe and attach whatever drawing you have, and they will provide you with a parts list to include a cad diagram. Something to consider.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Just make sure you screw into a stud; it does NOT have to be @ the end of the bracket.
Led lights unless it's an old model are not heavy.

 

[exnisstech]

Just make sure you screw into a stud; it does NOT have to be @ the end of the bracket.
Led lights unless it's an old model are not heavy.

Yes stud location in relationship to the tank will most likely determine if I can do two vertical or if I'll need to go horizontal and attach to that so can have the lights positioned correctly over the tank. I'll be running led but most like two rows of 4 so definatly don't want them in the water

 

[boacvh]

Hmm this might be better than my original plan in the drawing. Would be much less material needed and I could install it after the tank is set. I just wonder if it the anchor points would be strong enough. I haven't gotten exact measurements yet but the tank is 84" long and 30" deep front to back so the lights will be hanging out there quite a distance. Also most likely have two rows of lights consisting of noopsyche k7 V3 and gen 4 radion xr15 since I already have those lights. I suppose if needed I could add a short vertical piece on the wall to increase the holding strength.

My tank is 96 by 24 so the arms are a bit shorter. I also use kessils so don't know how weight compares. But here you can see @Reefer Reboot design and where I put the anchors. It also has hinges so I can move it out of the way to work on the tank. He also has additional design to raise or lower the lights but I didn't use that.

 

[exnisstech]

My tank is 96 by 24 so the arms are a bit shorter. I also use kessils so don't know how weight compares. But here you can see @Reefer Reboot design and where I put the anchors. It also has hinges so I can move it out of the way to work on the tank. He also has additional design to raise or lower the lights but I didn't use that.

NICE! Looks like Reefer Reboot is the guru. Hey @Reefer Reboot send me a DM if your interested in helping out. I don't mind compensating you for your time.

 

[shakacuz]

NICE! Looks like Reefer Reboot is the guru. Hey @Reefer Reboot send me a DM if your interested in helping out. I don't mind compensating you for your time.

he sure is!

 

[kdx7214]

My tank is 96 by 24 so the arms are a bit shorter. I also use kessils so don't know how weight compares. But here you can see @Reefer Reboot design and where I put the anchors. It also has hinges so I can move it out of the way to work on the tank. He also has additional design to raise or lower the lights but I didn't use that.

Beautiful build. This looks like something that might actually solve my lighting issues as well. Going to have to think about this and see what I can come up with. Might have to ask @Reefer Reboot for some ideas as well

 

[Reefer Reboot]

I'm no guru but I play one in my own mind! These guys are giving me a big(ger) head. I'll warn you now, I'm going to ask a lot of questions. I'll send you a DM.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Beautiful build. This looks like something that might actually solve my lighting issues as well. Going to have to think about this and see what I can come up with. Might have to ask @Reefer Reboot for some ideas as well

Ask away.

 

[kdx7214]

Ask away.

Greatly appreciated! I have a 75g tank that's 48" wide. I'm looking at getting two of the Noopsyche K7 III light fixtures when we get our tax refund (if I can figure out what I need and where to order the darn things lol). The problem is I have a massive air duct directly over the tank. I can get exact measurements and all of that, I just have zero experience with t-slot extruded aluminum and no idea on costs. I've attached photos of the tank and the furnace room behind it. As you can see there isn't much room directly above the tank, although there should be enough for the 12" clearance the Noopsyche lights call for. You can see the main house air duct above the small vent.

Is there a way to mount those lights above the tank so they can be moved out of the way pretty easily for tank maintenance that won't break the bank?

 

[exnisstech]

. As you can see there isn't much room directly above the tank, although there should be enough for the 12" clearance the Noopsyche lights call for.

Just an FYI in case you run into clearance issues. The lights can be run lower than 12" but I imagine you would loose some spread. I run the k7 3 pros 7" inches off the water surface due to space constraints in my canopy. I've been running them over a year and everything is doing great.

 

[kdx7214]

Just an FYI in case you run into clearance issues. The lights can be run lower than 12" but I imagine you would loose some spread. I run the k7 3 pros 7" inches off the water surface due to space constraints in my canopy. I've been running them over a year and everything is doing great.

Good to know! Thanks! Any idea where you order the darn things? Do you need to buy a separate controller?