Reefbreeders BOT arm issue

150 Gallon Reef · Dec 4, 2020

I received 2 reefbreeder lumenbars as a gift which I planned on attaching to my photon 48 inch v2. I have 2 BOT mounting arms holding the unit. I was told by reefbreeders that adding the extra weight of the lumenbars would cause the unit to sag overtime. I am trying to figure out a way to give it extra support to I don't need to return the lumenbars. I am talking to a metal fabricator and said he could make an exact plate to match the shape of the arm, but there is a 4 inch piece which sits in the water on the BOT mount... So I couldn't use metal on that part... Any help or ideas to add extra support is greatly appreciated... Pics are where reefbreeders said it sags and pics of the spine that the metal fabricator could add on top of the plate. Thank you!

Ron Reefman · Dec 25, 2020

Did you ever resolve this issue?

150 Gallon Reef · Jan 4, 2021

Ron Reefman said:
Did you ever resolve this issue?

I actually had a metal fabricator make a plate which screws to the side of the arm which will support the entire fixture. He used 316 metal which is supposed to hold up very well against saltwater. Only about 1 inch of the metal is going to be submerged under water. So I was going to coat it in a few layers of plasti-dip to protect the metal and to prevent and leaching. Does anyone have experience with using plasti-dip underwater? I have read a few forums stating it is safe after 24 hours cure time. Any other options to protect the metal?