Metal Halide mounting questions

[bbecher]

Hey all,

In my endless quest of buying things for my aquairums, I'm now looking at MH's. My question though is not in regards to what company, but in the mounting. I'm looking for suggestions from you all, since I'm unable to hang things from my ceiling (Base Regulation). I thought perhaps someone might know of a neat (easy) DIY or some other companies mounting solution. Space is at a premium, as there's not much room behind the back of my tank and th wall, and also the tank is already up and running, so I can't really move it around. Any thoughts for mounting will help!

Brad

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.

[bbecher]

Thanks Sorry about that

[melosu58]

Dont worry about it. If you have a canopy have you thought about MH retro fits.

[bbecher]

I don't have a canopy, no. I honestly, and maybe I'm in the minority, but I prefer the "open top" look.

[jessicasmarine]

you can get a sheet of aluminum in the hobby section at home depot, brace it and make legs with angled aluminum struts and then attach a retro fit to that. Depending on your skill level you could make it look as good as a professional fixture.....dont forget cooling fans

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by bbecher

I don't have a canopy, no. I honestly, and maybe I'm in the minority, but I prefer the "open top" look.

If you look at my tank you`ll see I totally agree with you.

[bbecher]

Originally Posted by jessicasmarine

you can get a sheet of aluminum in the hobby section at home depot, brace it and make legs with angled aluminum struts and then attach a retro fit to that. Depending on your skill level you could make it look as good as a professional fixture.....dont forget cooling fans

I thought of doing something of this nature, perhaps mounting something directed to the stand, but I'm unsure of structural integrity, and ultimately the weight of the MH system. But alas I run into the problem of I really can't get behind the stand to drill, since it's already up and running.

[jessicasmarine]

You dont have to mount it to the stand. you can make the legs to attach or clamp to the rim of the AQ and MH dont weigh that much if you have an external ballast. 90% of the weight is in the ballast.(which is better to have away from the water anyway)IMO

ditto on the open top