New at 3D Printing. What do you think?

[GHayes]

I recently downloaded FreeCad to design a bracket for my two Fluval Nano Wing Marine 20w LED lights that are attached to my lid on my Coralife Biocube 32. They came this way and I do not have the brackets for them. I looked online and did not find any that I thought would work. So, being a guy who likes to do things from scratch, I decided I would make them. I have the first step done, I THINK. I just need to schedule an appointment at a local university Makers Lab to see how much they will cost. Hopefully, they won't be the proverbial $70 homegrown tomato that tastes soooooo good. LOL BTW, I will need to print two sets.

I am posting some pics of the parts to get your opinion on them. I had to shorten the bracket/arm because of final print size limitations with the university's 3D printer. I understand that I need to use PETG (?) as the build material because parts of this will be in contact with the saltwater.

The Light holder will hold the actual light. The top lug will slide in the groove of the arm. I designed it to tighten into position with a bold and washer. The riser part of the arm will slide in the rim bracket to adjust the height. I have a rimmed tank. So, I made the bracket wide enough from front to back to accommodate a 1-1/2' rim. This will allow me to mount it on the back rim of the tank instead of the thin partition between the display tank and sump on my biocube.

 

[GHayes]

When I print this, I will only print one. I may need to make adjustments to it. I will post here what the finished product looks like.

 

[HappyFm]

Load-bearing components usually need to be printed in ABS or carbon, which aren’t cheap. Why don’t you try using aluminum extrusions? They’re cheaper, strong, easy to customize, and also look quite nice.

 

[GHayes]

HMMM. Thanks for the info. How will the aluminum react with the saltwater? Would I need to coat it with an aquarium safe product?

 

[HappyFm]

Of course any metal ions at high concentrations will affect your ecosystem. All you need to do is isolate them:

• coat the legs (the parts that easily contact water) with clear epoxy
• make sure no part of it is submerged

=> change the water regularly

At least in the local fishkeeping community around me, no one has had issues with aluminum light stands.
In the end, for me, aluminum is still the cheapest and most effective option when setting up the frame for a marine tank :D