How do you guys hang your MH pendants?

[digital-audiophile]

So I got my bad-boy PFO MH/PC combo pendant yesterday and the thing is a monster :) I' not sure if I want to hang it from the ceiling or not yet, and I won't have a hood to put it in.

Do any of you guys have pictures of your set-ups or any helpfull help?

Bob Villa I am not, and my mechanical skills are limited.

Thanks!

Greg

[OCDP]

Here's my setup... used PVC pipe , and using a floodlamp from Home Depot. (modded) Was pretty basic to make... here's the photos.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicssept005Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicssept004Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicssept003Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicssept002Small.jpg

Everything is water proof,(somewhat) so nothing will be damaged if water spills (one more pic to follow)

[OCDP]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicssept001Small.jpg

[OCDP]

Err, one more haha... if this helps at all..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/OCDP2005/newpicsaugust029Small.jpg

[mr_alberta]

this is how I mounted my lights:

http://members.shaw.ca/harvwong/10.22.05/DSCF0009.JPG

[fortheloveofcrabs]

I don't have a fancy pic as my computer died, and I'm on my old laptop with no USB... Any-hoo, I put up a small (about 8 inches) decorative floating shelve above my tank. I just used the thin steel wire my pendent came with, and looped it over the shelve. I did etch out little lines on the top of the shelve to hold the wire in place. The actual pendent actually rests directly against the wall. I was worried about heat/light damaging the wall, but it's been almost 2 years now and no discoloration so I'm pretty happy with my not so fancy way of doing things.

Hope this helps!

-Pauli

[digital-audiophile]

Awesome! Thanks guys! The PVC stand is pretty cool! I was thinking about something like that, the only problem I see is that this fixture is massive, 16"L x 12.5"W x 7.5"H and weights about 15lbs with all the gear in it.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/l-mh-hoodp2.php?product_ID=pfo-hp8p


Mr. Alberta, what are the rails you have your lights on from? How are the mounted on the side of your tank?

[Willow]

the easiest way would be for you to mount it from the ceiling using aircraft cables or chain.

[digital-audiophile]

the easiest way would be for you to mount it from the ceiling using aircraft cables or chain.

I did by the PFO hanging kit for it. I'm just a little reluctant to put holes in the ceiling.

[OCDP]

Yup, willow is right. I had no choice, I can't have holes in my ceiling. And the way I hung my pendant is not the easiest route to go.. but we wanted something that would look neat and tidy, and it worked. I'd say mr. alberta's is definately the easiest method other than hanging it from the ceiling. You can always fill the holes in the ceiling later on if need be. (i HEARD toothpaste [white toothpaste] fills the holes very nicely.. have not tried it though)

[digital-audiophile]

Perhaps the ceiling will be the way. I live in a condo and will have to drill into concrete in the ceiling, I guess not a bad way when hanging something heavy.

[Kabong]

Be sure to use screw anchor's if your going to hang it from a cement ceiling

[digital-audiophile]

Be sure to use screw anchor's if your going to hang it from a cement ceiling

Screw anchors are the ones that you use for hanging plants right?

[dreef]

Sorry to bump in on your thread digital,but can someone give me an idea how to hang this? have to keep it low to the tank and be able to get it out of the way to gain access to the tank.It weights 31 lbs.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/highball67/f7_1_b.jpg

[kari]

Ditto the air craft cables and chain.

[outtafocus]

I used this product from Coralife.
http://esuweb.com/cardfile.asp?ItemNumber=53093&IDProductRelationship=314

If you can modify it to suit your needs, it works perfectly.
One the end of the cable is a "bolt" which in the picture is attached to the curved pieces of metal. This bolt easily comes undone and then can be mounted onto any type of fixture ( drilling or some other method)
The best part about it is that it is fully adjustable. The "bolt" has a button that when pushed down allows the fixture to slide up or down on the cable.
That way you can slide your whole fixture up out of the way when you want to do tank work. It also allows easy fixture height adjustment.
I felt its price wasnt to bad either $24.99.

[outtafocus]

If you have a concrete ceiling, you may have some difficulty of you dont have access to a hammer drill.
Here are some types of anchors.
http://www.confast.com/concrete-fasteners.htm


Heres some pics of the Coralife setup.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b213/outtafocuscalgary/185131.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b213/outtafocuscalgary/185043.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b213/outtafocuscalgary/185003.jpg

[AndyL]

My "hanging" is FUGLY but functional, simply galvanized punch angle aka perforated angle (I got it at work, you can find it at any hardware store) built to frame the tank, cuts easy with tin snips, then bolted together to provide a frame for the lights to sit on.

Andy

[mr_alberta]

Mr. Alberta, what are the rails you have your lights on from? How are the mounted on the side of your tank?

The pendants are sitting on aluminum angles that I picked up at Home Depot. Small pieces are cut and screwed into the canopy and the long pieces just sit on top to the pieces screwed into the canopy.

[Cap'n]

Hang it from the ceiling. Don't worry about the holes. If the time comes that you NEED to fill them, patch, sand and paint. A nice bright ceiling is a plus for selling anyway.

Are you sure you would need to drill into concrete?

[digital-audiophile]

Hang it from the ceiling. Don't worry about the holes. If the time comes that you NEED to fill them, patch, sand and paint. A nice bright ceiling is a plus for selling anyway.

Are you sure you would need to drill into concrete?

Unfortunatley yes, the nice thing when they built this place was the concrete they put between the floors, it keeps the noise from above to zero. The Mrs had actually hung a plant hook in the spare bedroom when I was away on a business trip and she said she drilled through concrete right away. (part of the reason why I didn't want to drill into the ceiling was I gave her a hard time about putting holes in the ceiling and now I need to eat a little crow if I do it myself ;) :P )

[seashells]

If your're hanging from the ceiling use a cross brace if your joists are in the wrong place.

Doug

[Cap'n]

If you can, borrow (or rent) a hammer drill and install some concrete plugs. Noisy and messy, but quick and very solid. Make sure the holes are where you want them. If you're scared of making a mistake ask a friend in construction to help you out, then blame all the mistakes on them.

[digital-audiophile]

Will a powerdrill with a mortat bit on it work?

[outtafocus]

I doubt it, hammer drills are used for concrete because they have a hammering action as well as drilling, which actualy chips the contrete as you go.
You can rent hammer drills from Rona or Home depot for pretty cheap.
You could always try your regular drill though.

[AndyL]

A normal drill with a masonry bit will work... But it wont be cutting through like a hot knife through butter.

Andy

[Samw]

I dont know anything about your apartment. But I'm sure you'll watch out for water pipes. We had someone on around our 30th floor drill into the ceiling right into a water pipe and it flood like a hundred units below. It also took out all 3 elevators in the building. There was no elevator service for almost a week. People were ****ed. Dozens of apartments had to replace their drywalls. I think it must have cost hundreds of thousands in repairs. I can't remember who ended up paying for it. :smile:

[digital-audiophile]

HAHAH! Trust me, I know the pains of broken water pipes in condos. Boxing day 2005, a guy two floors above me left his patio door open over night, it froze the baseboard heating pipes and they burst. My place and the one above me got messed up :( It was three months and lots of ripping apart and construction before my place was 100% again.



I just had a bit of a brain wave though, I pulled out my stud finder and it seems that there are two studs behind my tank.. I'm not thinking about going to home depot tomorrow and getting 12-16" long shelf bracks and see if I can hang my pendant that way.. I'm thinking I can just add the shelf as well and hang a fan from it to cool the water.


I dont know anything about your apartment. But I'm sure you'll watch out for water pipes. We had someone on around our 30th floor drill into the ceiling right into a water pipe and it flood like a hundred units below. It also took out all 3 elevators in the building. There was no elevator service for almost a week. People were ****ed. Dozens of apartments had to replace their drywalls. I think it must have cost hundreds of thousands in repairs. I can't remember who ended up paying for it. :smile:

[digital-audiophile]

So I decided to get a little crazy today and went looking around home depot.. came back with a pile of stuff and got to work. An hour later I ended up with this mounting system.. let me know what you guys think?

http://members.shaw.ca/gregkubasek/halide.jpg

[mark]

Looking good. If the wife though pushes for a little less industrial style brackets, at HD they have some used for hanging plant baskets (not shelves).

And that light is a monster.

[digital-audiophile]

I was looking at different brackets but the mrs. actually picked these ones so I should be safe ;) :D

I figured the shelf wasn't too bad of an idea, so I can mount a fan on there to help cool the water. The light blows me away.. allthough the mogul night light on it does not seem to be working so I sent a message to J&L to see if they can repair/replace it. I'm happy so far though.. a pretty penny spent but I can get the full lighting cycle I wanted.