In need of advice...

[fortheloveofcrabs]

Good morning!

Yes, I have had my coffee… Okay, I have two tanks, a nano and a 55 gal. The 55 gal has 2 Coral Life 2X96 watt PC fixtures (see pics) and the nano one 175MH Hamilton pendant like so:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/l-mh-pend.php?product_ID=zhm-hrs1

It basically exactly the same as this (size/shape wise):
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=34970

But not HQI… (BTW, I hope Outtafocus doesn’t mind me linking to his thread like this)

Anyways, it’s one too many tanks so I want to get rid of the nano and move everything into the 55, but if I am going to do so, I want better lights. So my idea is to get a second MH pendant and use the two over the big tank. Here’s my problem:

The big tank is viewable (ish) from three sides, so any covering would have to be closed on three sides, but then there is the skimmer, in an awkward as heck position, so that’s a problem….

I don’t want to hang anything from the ceiling. I really don’t care for the look of it – especially in my family room.

Any ideas of how to mount the two lights over the tank?


Tank in room (front, basically):

http://www.spaghettisoft.com/fish/img_1234.jpg

Back of tank, what a crappy spot for a skimmer, eh? Not much I can do about it now, the tank is too close to the wall to move the skimmer. I’ve tried to move the tank, but it’s not happening.

http://www.spaghettisoft.com/fish/img_1235.jpg

Top of tank for relative positioning of stuff…

http://www.spaghettisoft.com/fish/img_1236.jpg

And finally, the wall side. It’s pretty full with tubes and AC cords.

http://www.spaghettisoft.com/fish/img_1237.jpg

There’s no sump on this tank, the tubes going in/out are for my chiller.

Thanks for any advice, I’m totally at a loss on this one…

-Pauli

[mr_alberta]

How about a tall canopy and mounting the lights in there? It'll also prevent you from being blinded if you sit near the tank. If a canopy is a no go, you can always mount some sort of brackets on the wall (or a shelf) that protudes outwards from the wall and over your tank and mount the lights to the brackets/bottom of the shelf. If neither of those options are feasible, you'll probably need to get a different light system that has some sort of legs for the super clean look.

[Quagmire]

I was thinking the same as Mr Alberta as I was reading this.A shelf extending out from the wall,and maybe moving the tank out a bit and hanging the skimmer on the end closest to the wall.Also if you get energetic,a nice DIY stand and canopy would look great

[mseepman]

Pauli,

I'm also thinking a little DIY would be best. Have you seen the Hagen GLO T5(HO) displays in stores...I think most Total Pet stores and many Petland store carry these lights. They often show how they could be mounted above a tank via two square metal rods that come up the back of the tank and curve over the tank leaving 2 hooks from which the light can be hung. I could try to draw it but I think that would be a mistake...lol. It is very clean looking and it would nicely hold two pendant MH lights.

[fortheloveofcrabs]

So I did a google search, and the only thing I could find of the Hagen T5's is a system of two "clamps" (for lack of a better word) that attach to the side of the tank, and the T5's clip into those... Very clean looking. Thanks for the ideas!

[mr_alberta]

Look into the Tek Light fixtures w/ mounting legs (or you can come over for a first hand look if you like). I'm sure you can rig up something similar that will work on your Hamiltons.