Bodge jump aquarium lighting
Discussion
First of all, whilst this is pet related ultimately it's a question about DIY - so if the mods would kindly leave it in HG&DIY I'd be grateful.
I've recently bought a 4x2x1.5ft cold water fish tank which is great...except that I rarely get to see the contents. I've managed to aquire some normal aquarium lighting (bulbs and starter units) which should do the job but now I need a way of hanging them. From the ceiling is one option, though given that it's wood panelled I'm not sure how I'd do it and how easy it would be - the physical chain/hanging aspect would be fine, but I think I'd struggle with ceiling fixings.
The other option is a home made luminaire (I've posted a pic below of a proper one for illustrative purposes.)
Proper ones sell for £70 upwards and that's money I don't have, so I was thinking about a simple home made version - it doesn't need to be pretty (bonus if it is), it just needs to be lightweight and strong enough to support a bulb (they're very light.)
My thought was to thin metal rods - something thin enough that I could easily bend them - to create an A frame at each end , and join it all together. I don't have a soldering iron at my disposal (though if they're cheap I could get one) so my idea was that the two A frames would be seperate and joined together by one length of rod bent around the apex at each end, and have the light bulb sit on the centre strut of the A frame.
Does that sound workable, or is there a better way of doing things? If it's a workable idea what thickness of metal rod would I need and what metal? If it helps, below is a photo of the tank. The red circles parts are the fixed panes that will take the weight - the blue circled part is the sliding glass that I don't want to put weight on:
I've recently bought a 4x2x1.5ft cold water fish tank which is great...except that I rarely get to see the contents. I've managed to aquire some normal aquarium lighting (bulbs and starter units) which should do the job but now I need a way of hanging them. From the ceiling is one option, though given that it's wood panelled I'm not sure how I'd do it and how easy it would be - the physical chain/hanging aspect would be fine, but I think I'd struggle with ceiling fixings.
The other option is a home made luminaire (I've posted a pic below of a proper one for illustrative purposes.)
Proper ones sell for £70 upwards and that's money I don't have, so I was thinking about a simple home made version - it doesn't need to be pretty (bonus if it is), it just needs to be lightweight and strong enough to support a bulb (they're very light.)
My thought was to thin metal rods - something thin enough that I could easily bend them - to create an A frame at each end , and join it all together. I don't have a soldering iron at my disposal (though if they're cheap I could get one) so my idea was that the two A frames would be seperate and joined together by one length of rod bent around the apex at each end, and have the light bulb sit on the centre strut of the A frame.
Does that sound workable, or is there a better way of doing things? If it's a workable idea what thickness of metal rod would I need and what metal? If it helps, below is a photo of the tank. The red circles parts are the fixed panes that will take the weight - the blue circled part is the sliding glass that I don't want to put weight on:
steviejasp said:
Just get a length of plastic guttering and a couple of end caps.
Screw the tube holders to the guttering and rest the ends on the ends of the tank. Job done and Roberts' your cousins nephew.
Not a bad idea that, although it needs to be propped up at least 6 inches - 1 foot to give me some working room when doing water changes etc.Screw the tube holders to the guttering and rest the ends on the ends of the tank. Job done and Roberts' your cousins nephew.
Edited by tenohfive on Friday 25th February 16:30
steviejasp said:
It will be ok with T8 tubes as ive done it myself before.
T5's may be too hot as you say.
How about using the aluminium reflectors instead of guttering:
That does look like a better option, and they're cheaper than I thought (£12) so I'll order one. But I still want it elevated somehow. I think L brackets on the wall and hanging by a length of chain will do the job nicely - a few screw holes won't be noticeable.T5's may be too hot as you say.
How about using the aluminium reflectors instead of guttering:
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