Need ideas on custom-mounting lights...

[parker002]

As most of you know, I recently swapped out my Aqueon single-tube T8 hoods for Lexan sheets and a Coralife T5 fixture. I also have a wood canopy but it hasn't been on my aquarium in over a month because I'm always messing with something.

Yesterday I finally got my tank to a point where I was done messing with wood layouts, filter modifications, and new plants. I put my wood canopy back on and walked away only to wake up this morning thinking "why are my perfectly functional old lights in a box"?

So here's my problem - I want to use the single-tube T8 strips WITH my T5 fixture but I can't figure out how to mount them.

The Coralife fixture is 48" long and has mounting legs on each end that raises it about 4 inches above the top of the aquarium.

The Aqueon Deluxe hoods are hinged plastic and the rear portion has a clear plastic "window" surrounded by a raised channel. The strip light fixture fits down over the raised channel and thus sits directly against the plastic. There's actually 2 of these fixtures, 24" each, and my tank has a divider strip down the middle.

Because of the new Lexan, I can't just set the T8 fixtures down. They'd certainly damage the Lexan with their weight if not with their heat.

Any ideas on how I might raise them up so that they mount similar to the Coralife fixture?

[parker002]

Unfortunately, the width of the Coralife fixture dictates that it must be placed exactly halfway between the front and back of the tank in order for it to fit inside the wood canopy (it does fit perfectly by the way).

So the only way to mount the T8's would be to put them either behind or in front of the Coralife but at a height ABOVE the Coralife. For instance, I could flush mount them to the inside top of the canopy and they'd fit.

Is it worth it?

[Carl]

Can you take a picture of your tank showing this problem?

It seems to me that adding the T8s back into the mix is more trouble than their worth since you are doing well with the T5 lights

Carl

[parker002]

OK, hopefully these will help.

	Here's how the Coralife fixture fits into the canopy. The canopy has vertical supports at the front and back and the Coralife fits right in between them.
	I put one of the T8 fixtures on top of the Coralife fixture - hopefully that will give you an idea of the vertical dimension of the canopy.
	While I was taking the pics, I set one of the T8 fixtures down and noticed it kind of "fit". I can absolutely see the light it adds - turning it on and off is noticeable even with the T5 on. However, it's obviously not ideal since I'd have to move the light every time I wanted to feed my fish or anything.

[Carl]

OK, this is definitely a case of where a picture (or three) is worth a thousand words (especially for a picture thinker such as myself, I am not an analytical thinker)

My thought here is to totally remove the fixtures from the hoods or at least the T8 and mount them to the canopy.
In most cases in my aquarium design and maintenance business I used open fixtures directly mounted to the canopy which was much neater and easier to clean too (my clients preferred this too, less "garbage" on top of the tank)

Your canopy appears to have a large gap from the bottom to the top of the water, but this can be over come with wood "blocks" and then mount your light fixture(s) to these blocks.

Carl

[parker002]

ROFL

How ironic that you say that. I was just headed back here to say I've been looking over the fixtures and was wondering why I couldn't take them apart.

Here's a pic of what they kind of look like (the one on the left):



As you can see, the fixture itself is more than double the width of an actual T8 bulb, mostly the large plastic reflector (yes, according to Aqueon, it's plastic. Dual and Triple strips use Aluminum). The reflector appears to be held in place by two plastic snap-ins. The ballast and other stuff is hidden behind the reflector.

With the right parts, I could easily mount the ballast and wiring on TOP of a single-tube reflector and reduce the width of the fixture by more than 50%. If I can do that, I actually DO have enough room between the back of my tank and the Coralife to do something like this:

[parker002]

So I didn't have any luck at the local hardware store today - they only wanted to sell me a complete fixture.

Do you see any reason why I can't leave it like this for few days?

[Carl]

No, I do not see a problem.

Can you break out the old fixture and attach to the canopy via some machine/wood screws?

Carl

[parker002]

Feb 20, 2011 19:36:58 GMT -5 Carl said:

No, I do not see a problem.

Can you break out the old fixture and attach to the canopy via some machine/wood screws?

Carl

I can but mounted to the underside of the canopy they're a good 6-8 inches from the water and providing very little light.

I need a good directional reflector before I can mount them.

[Carl]

I can but mounted to the underside of the canopy they're a good 6-8 inches from the water and providing very little light.

With the amount of space you have, attaching one 2 x 4 board then the Fixture should provide enough light and still leave you plenty of room under the canopy

Carl

[parker002]

I'll take a look at it.

If I attach a 2x4 on it's end, that adds 3.5" of spacing. I can re-use the existing reflectors in that case by just removing them from the black plastic housing.