Hanging a light from the roof

[KPG007]

I finally went out and bought a beautiful new light fixture! It came with a hanging kit instead of legs (which are on the other lights I have). I'm a little apprehensive about using this hanging kit as this is a fairly heavy light.
Anybody got some suggestions about mounting these onto your ceiling? What kind of screws do you need? Should I go with my own hanger instead?

Any help is appreciated.

Kelly

[neoh]

If you don't mind putting a hole in your ceiling - I used big eye loop screws into the ceiling and hung my lights from a chain.

With my new place, I can't go into the ceiling (because it's concrete) so I had to improvise with a 16" bracket from an Ikea shelf that extends directly into the center of the tank and hung it from there.

[KPG007]

Yeah, I did the hook and chain thing with my main tank. We have high ceilings, so I had to drop the light about 4 feet.
This one came with a braided steel cable and some connectors to mount it with. I have no problem with the light fixture end, its hang it from the ceiling with the hanging kit thats got me worried.

[neoh]

What fixture is it? When I got my Vertex's they are about three times heavier than my previous fixture, I slowly put the light down to support the weight and the bracket ripped right out of the wall. Thankfully I was prepared and had my hand underneath the fixture otherwise it would of ended up in the drink! My problem is, the wall has no studs in it, just drywall, and the ceiling is concrete - so I'm SOL on all counts. I ended up using drywall anchors and drilling 3 more holes in the bracket, and really long screws and it's been holding up fine.

I certainly wouldn't swing like a monkey off of it, but it's definitely supporting the weight.

[monocus]

you could make a aluminum frame that sits ontop of your tank and suspend the light from that.i built one for my friend for under $20 for a 3' tank

[KPG007]

Originally Posted by neoh

What fixture is it? When I got my Vertex's they are about three times heavier than my previous fixture, I slowly put the light down to support the weight and the bracket ripped right out of the wall. Thankfully I was prepared and had my hand underneath the fixture otherwise it would of ended up in the drink! My problem is, the wall has no studs in it, just drywall, and the ceiling is concrete - so I'm SOL on all counts. I ended up using drywall anchors and drilling 3 more holes in the bracket, and really long screws and it's been holding up fine.

I have a stud finder, so I know where to mount it, its more like can 2 screws and a thin cable support that much weight?
I got a great deal on an 4 foot 8 Bulb Geissmann Infinity light. I still prefer T5's and the price price of this was equal to one LED panel (I would need at least 4 to do a proper job on my SPS dominated tank)

Originally Posted by monocus

you could make a aluminum frame that sits ontop of your tank and suspend the light from that.i built one for my friend for under $20 for a 3' tank

I thought about making a bracket, but I might just try hanging it first.

[monkE]

i used shelf brackets that I mounted into the wall with drywall anchors and they are working beautifully for me

[dreef]

I went up into the attic and put up a 2 by 4 and ran the air craft cable thru that and thru the ceiling down to the light fixture..no worries from me been hanging for years.

[allie_san]

Originally Posted by KPG007

I have a stud finder, so I know where to mount it, its more like can 2 screws and a thin cable support that much weight?
I got a great deal on an 4 foot 8 Bulb Geissmann Infinity light. I still prefer T5's and the price price of this was equal to one LED panel (I would need at least 4 to do a proper job on my SPS dominated tank)


I thought about making a bracket, but I might just try hanging it first.

How much weight are we talking? If you hit a stud with each screw you should be good..
And aircraft cable can handle a ton of tension. You could probably google it based on the diameter of it.

[Starry]

I screwed a 1 x 6 to the celing, and then eye hooks in the 1 x 6...no big deal to reposition things that way should the need arise.