light rail Project still in motion!!!

[Battlecorals]

Random thought, but could you do this:

Use the motor you have pictured, mount the lights on down bar that pivots at the top. When you want the lights to angle at the edges of the tank, have a bar dropped down that the lights would "rest against" and the motor would keep moving, resulting in the lights moving at an angle.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Yes, sir, I actually did exactly that I think what you’re describing. If you can see my pic above I have a video that shows that actually working but but I can’t post it unfortunately here

essentially when the light gets to the end of the track, the stop just swivels the light up a little bit on the end and it totally works, but it’s just a little rickety.

This would be by far the path of these resistance to make this happen though

 

[Dust Bowl Corals]

Yes, sir, I actually did exactly that I think what you’re describing. If you can see my pic above I have a video that shows that actually working but but I can’t post it unfortunately here

essentially when the light gets to the end of the track, the stop just swivels the light up a little bit on the end and it totally works, but it’s just a little rickety.

This would be by far the path of these resistance to make this happen though

Yup, I see it now that I opened the pic on a computer instead of a tiny phone screen

 

[Battlecorals]

Yup, I see it now that I opened the pic on a computer instead of a tiny phone screen

I’d be happy to send you the video if you wanna see it it actually looks pretty cool. I mean it is exactly the mechanism that I’m looking to achieve. Just you know a little rickety for anything long-term

 

[BeanAnimal]

There are numerous ways to tackle the problem.
A simple lever arm and bearing attached to the pivoting lamp would provide an adjustable degree of tilt vs travel. The guid rail would just be a hunk of aluminum U channel for the bearing to follow. Suspended above the mover track. One on each end, would not even have to go full length.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Could also be below track with the bearing bolted right to the lamp pivot arm. Too busy to draw it right now, but I think you get the idea.

 

[Battlecorals]

Could also be below track with the bearing bolted right to the lamp pivot arm. Too busy to draw it right now, but I think you get the idea.

Yes, excellent I very much like the idea of the motion of the rail activating the pivot as opposed to like separate motors trying to operate independently so I absolutely yes and thank you.

We are completely on the right track and thanks for the graphic that helps beyond words. We’ll have to fabricate some different mounts and things like that for sure but I truly think at this point we can do this. I can see it.

And I’ve got five tanks we could try different mechanisms on if we wanted to go for it and try a few different concepts.

 

[Battlecorals]

OK, so I got a working model up and running and it pretty much checks all the boxes of what I need to do. For the most part. I’ll make the track a little longer on the next one so we can angle inward a little bit more otherwise I don’t think I’ll have to change much moving to the second model
Here’s a time lapse video.

I can adjust the angle of the light with a simple adjustable stop. And the swivel mechanism is just a simple pillow bearing

so, low-tech but that’s just the way I like it.

You can really tell from this angle because of the reflection off the tiles how much light is getting to that other side of the tank in that position. Without the tilt that section would be completely unlit.


Also hitting the coral from a different angles all day. I’m very anxious to see how things look in about a month or so

 

[Featherweight]

That's fun

 

[BeanAnimal]

Given the size of the light and the short distance, they solution is simple and effective.

Though, the bearing could hang a Volkswagen.

 

[Uiteraard]

Any updates on this awesome setup?

 

[ShawnSaucier]

I’ve just skimmed through this post briefly and love this idea. Always had something similar in the back of my, just not a system big enough to warrant it.
I work in the concert industry where we use a lot of automation in creating the shows. The first thing that popped into my head was a camera tracking rail with a gimble mount for the light.

Just a thought… but could be a starting point.

 

[revhtree]

OK, so I got a working model up and running and it pretty much checks all the boxes of what I need to do. For the most part. I’ll make the track a little longer on the next one so we can angle inward a little bit more otherwise I don’t think I’ll have to change much moving to the second model
Here’s a time lapse video.

I can adjust the angle of the light with a simple adjustable stop. And the swivel mechanism is just a simple pillow bearing

so, low-tech but that’s just the way I like it.

You can really tell from this angle because of the reflection off the tiles how much light is getting to that other side of the tank in that position. Without the tilt that section would be completely unlit.


Also hitting the coral from a different angles all day. I’m very anxious to see how things look in about a month or so

Fantastic!!

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Did not see the working model post. Looks great

 

[Battlecorals]

I’ve just skimmed through this post briefly and love this idea. Always had something similar in the back of my, just not a system big enough to warrant it.
I work in the concert industry where we use a lot of automation in creating the shows. The first thing that popped into my head was a camera tracking rail with a gimble mount for the light.

Just a thought… but could be a starting point.

Dang dude yeah that's promising. I have a friend that also does lighting and electrical work like a key grip stuff and I've been thinking about asking him if he had any thoughts too.

so this is kind of out where I was headed thought wise as well. Thanks for chiming in this looks awesome. I mean pretty much exactly the kind of thing I was looking for mechanically. I'm guessing it's not cheap though.

 

[Battlecorals]

Did not see the working model post. Looks great

Thanks! I've got three fully functional now and working on a fourth. With no plans to stop. Here's another Time lapse and you can see a little bit better view of the coverage because of the camera angle and the other two in the background.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Dang dude yeah that's promising. I have a friend that also does lighting and electrical work like a key grip stuff and I've been thinking about asking him if he had any thoughts too.

so this is kind of out where I was headed thought wise as well. Thanks for chiming in this looks awesome. I mean pretty much exactly the kind of thing I was looking for mechanically. I'm guessing it's not cheap though.

Well, not going to be cheap for sure but probably not as expensive as you may think. If you have a decent accountant, definitely a viable business expense.
Definitely lean into your friend and pick his brain. This was just a quick example of some ideas and I am sure there are more cost prohibitive options out there with some ingenuity involved.
Look at some places like B&H online…

 

[Jasonak]

@Battlecorals
Any updates on this ?

 

[Battlecorals]

@Battlecorals
Any updates on this ?

Hey, thanks for the bump. Still waiting on some parts from Logan actually to complete a couple more of these

the side Baars that joined the lights together.

In the meantime I rigged up a little bar and a little bearing, but it’s not really great long-term so mechanically no big updates till I get those,

but I can certainly report that the corals haven’t really skipped a beat at all. Going on I think almost 3 months maybe longer now since the first one was installed

color is great great, growth remains the same

and now that it’s getting a little bit warmer it’s very easier for me to recognize that It’s been much easier to keep it cooler up here already, which is a massive relief and something I’ve struggled with since day one


Still waiting on the curved rail from the stair company I caught them just as they were entering their super busy time of the year apparently so I kind of got pushed to the back burner, but they have been touching base with me a little bit just to let me know that they haven’t forgot about me

 

[Jasonak]

Very cool, I was really really curious about how the corals were responding. My tank was at 82 yesterday, and we are just starting to get warm here. Made me think of this setup again. Will be easier for me as I can just go left to right with it and remove about 3 lights. I think I'm going to give it a shot and see how it works out.