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redfishblewfish
06/10/2010, 08:11 PM
I’ve got to believe someone has done this, but I can’t find it.

I have T5’s (IceCap Retros), that run the width of my tank, and sit maybe three inches from the water. If you want to get your hands into the tank, you currently slide the lights back a few inches, and you can now reach in. The lights are supported by brackets that sit on the shorter sides of the tank.

I want to build a canopy to hold the lights – totally enclosed. The problem is that the enclosed canopy would not allow you to slide the lights back. So what I want to do is build the canopy roughly twice as high, where the lower half would lift up into the upper portion, allowing you to reach into the tank. The lower portion would, more or less, be nested into the upper portion. The light portion would lift straight up, always remaining parallel to the water, and maybe lift six to twelve inches up.

I've got to believe someone has already successfully done this. If not, here is where I need ideas and input:

Guides – What can I use as tracks to guide the light unit portion up and down? My first thought were draw slides mounted vertically, but then I thought of the salt effect on standard steel.

Counterweight - How can I counter weight the light portion so that it lifts easily? It would need to lift a slab of plywood, two IceCap ballasts, eight 4 foot bulbs and associated hardware, five computer fans and bracket.

Any input would be appreciated.

TheFishMan65
06/10/2010, 08:47 PM
Here are a bunch of thread you can review.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1860199
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1674506
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1849206
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1792472
Hopefully one of these will be an idea you like.

D-Nak
06/11/2010, 11:23 AM
Fishman -- I think the OP is looking for something that will sit on his tank, not suspended over it.

Redblew -- I can envision what you're thinking of, let me see if I can describe it: you'd like to build a canopy that is tall enough to allow your lights to slide up high enough inside for you to do normal maintenance on your tank, the canopy will sit on top of the tank and will not raise or lower, just the lights inside.

I think counterweights would be good, as I agree that slides will eventually rust and get stuck. I have heavy duty slides with ball bearings for other projects, and they require maintenance (spraying WD-40) which I don't think you'd want to do right above your tank.

Here's another idea which I think is pretty cool:

Salsa King's Counterweighted Canopy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLHyvxlN0kk)

Would that work for you?

redfishblewfish
06/11/2010, 08:30 PM
Fishman, thanks for the links. These seem to be more for free hanging pendants/fistures, but did supply ideas for what I want to do. I wish I wasn’t a wood/metal person, and understood the electronic stuff. That one with the servos seemed pretty neat. Unfortunately I wouldn’t know where to begin.

D-Nak, you are right on the money. The actual action is what I am looking for, with the following exceptions:

1. I want all the hardware in the canopy (not mounted to the wall)
2. The lifting of the portion that is shown in the subject video would actually disappear into the upper part of the canopy.

Now, were do I get that hardware??? Is there an existing DIY out there??

D-Nak
06/11/2010, 09:35 PM
Hmmm... I've been into reef tanks for quite a while, and I've never seen what you're describing. I've never seen one that is totally hidden inside a canopy. All of the counterweight designs I've seen rely on some sort of a rail to slide on, usally mounted on the wall behind the tank. I think it's a cool idea and you should pursue it. My guess is that you'll need to mount the counterweights on the sides of the inside of the canopy, or somehow hanging off the back of the canopy behind the tank.

Hopefully someone has already done it and you can copy it.