Hanging LED's Ideas

[ronhaskovec]

Hey everyone, I'm just looking to see if anyone has pictures of how they hung suspended their LED's above their tanks and kept it looking sleek... I need to mount 3 fixtures above my tank and want to get some ideas of how to make it look nice so the wife is happy :-)

[Snootch]

[joelespinoza]

Well I started off with just a huge heatsink (10"x46") that is the backbone of the LED fixture:


Then made a box with black sides and a clear bottom and siliconed it over the bottom to encase and protect the LEDs (dont mind the clothespins, they are just holding it on while the silicone dries):


Then I added a blind so I wouldnt roll over in bed and blind myself (my tank is in my bedroom):


Looking back on it I think it would be better to build the box with a exactly the same way but put light scattering material on the bottom, lower the light a bit and forget the blind. I also could have used some real wire loom, and probably still will, instead of just electrical tape.

[BigKahuna]

I made a mount out of a standard LCD swingarm.

[ronhaskovec]

Thats an interesting Idea Kahuna

[BigKahuna]

Originally Posted by ronhaskovec

Thats an interesting Idea Kahuna

I documented how it was made in my 150DD build thread here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2168214
Nothing fancy, essentially a wooden post with the mount bolted atop. With a cube-like tank and oddball rockwork I wanted the ability to move the lights around and look decent so this seemed to fit the bill.

[S14Swap240sx]

i just used conduit. and depending on how you hook up your heatsinks you can do 3 individual pieces of bent conduit, or 2 on each end and join the heatsinks with some 90 degree aluminum



conduit un painted and un cut

[cu0ngsayz]

cool ideas guys. i need to get my canopy made so i can mount my light

[BS87]

If you go the conduit route, I've seen people use copper pipe (easier to bend?) and then paint it.

[MaLi]

... here is another cheap option:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...highlight=mali

[S14Swap240sx]

Originally Posted by BS87

If you go the conduit route, I've seen people use copper pipe (easier to bend?) and then paint it.

there is nothing difficult about bending conduit.. you can even do multiple bends to make it look all fancy. just buy a bender and return it after your done =)

i think i paid 1 or 2 dollars for each 10ft piece of 3/4inch conduit

ideally you want to use a metal primer, and then whatever spray paint for color for a longer lasting finish

[joelespinoza]

So out of curiosity why not just hang the lights from the ceiling? IMO its not much of an option with small tanks, but once you get up to the 40-50+ gallon size, and especially once they are close to eye level (closer to the ceiling) it seems like the cleanest option to me....

[wastedtime]

Originally Posted by Snootch

Wow this looks great.

Where did you get the hanging kit from, Can you please provide a link to it ?
Is the hanging kit holding on to the acrylic or is it holding on to the heatsink underneath it ?

[Snootch]

Originally Posted by joelespinoza

So out of curiosity why not just hang the lights from the ceiling? IMO its not much of an option with small tanks, but once you get up to the 40-50+ gallon size, and especially once they are close to eye level (closer to the ceiling) it seems like the cleanest option to me....

I have an air vent directly above the tank so hanging the light from ceiling was not an option for me. My floor plan forced me to setup the tank in this particular location.
I realized the benefits of the having the vent directly above the tank later on.

Originally Posted by wastedtime

Wow this looks great.

Where did you get the hanging kit from, Can you please provide a link to it ?
Is the hanging kit holding on to the acrylic or is it holding on to the heatsink underneath it ?

Thank you wastedtime,

The hanging kit is from RapidLED
http://www.rapidled.com/y-shaped-hanging-kit/

and it's mounted to aluminum frame. The acrylic top cover is held in place using the same 4 mounting bolts.

[Landsailor]

www.8020.net for the win!

[wastedtime]

Originally Posted by Snootch

Thank you wastedtime,

The hanging kit is from RapidLED
http://www.rapidled.com/y-shaped-hanging-kit/

and it's mounted to aluminum frame. The acrylic top cover is held in place using the same 4 mounting bolts.

Thanks, Do you have any pictures of how it is mounted. Rapid led says that the mounting kit does not work with regular 4.25" heatsinks.

I am planning on doing something similar, Most mounting kits i have seen were super flimsy or too bulky. The rapidled one is perfect.

[Snootch]

Originally Posted by wastedtime

Thanks, Do you have any pictures of how it is mounted. Rapid led says that the mounting kit does not work with regular 4.25" heatsinks.

I am planning on doing something similar, Most mounting kits i have seen were super flimsy or too bulky. The rapidled one is perfect.

I'm not using a conventional heatsink on this build.
The whole LED fixture is built using 80/20 aluminum extrusion.

http://www.8020.net/T-Slot-4.asp

[wastedtime]

Ahh I see it now. Those pictures help a lot. Thanks Snootch.

[ronhaskovec]

Great job on that build Snootch.

[BigKahuna]

Originally Posted by Snootch

I'm not using a conventional heatsink on this build.
The whole LED fixture is built using 80/20 aluminum extrusion.

Very impressive, I honestly thought it was some fixture you bought from a smaller manufacturer I didn't recognize with an Apex display attached on the front. Nice work.

[Landsailor]

Originally Posted by Snootch

I'm not using a conventional heatsink on this build.
The whole LED fixture is built using 80/20 aluminum extrusion.

Which profile did you use? Do you have a build thread with it?

That looks fantastic.

[mrx66699]

there are 3 250w fixtures that are on a track and can move from one end to the other depending on which end I want to work in or they can all be removed all together if need be .....pg 8 has a pic of the individual fixtures http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2147084&page=8

[Snootch]

Thank you guys, I appreciate the positive comments.

Originally Posted by Landsailor

Which profile did you use? Do you have a build thread with it?

That looks fantastic.

Landsailor, I used 1003 profile for the LED bars and 1030 for the frame.

[slick970]

36x24x18 cree diy led build

[mrbee2828]

Originally Posted by Snootch

What did you use to attach the fixture to the 8020 directly like that?