280g Inwall

[banditpowdercoat]

Guess you would hate me if I told you that that stuff also comes in a slotted back version, so no drilling required, Huh?

Atleast its up, right lol Now hang them lights

[michika]

Just say when, and I'll send him over, complete with a couple of double doubles.

[Phanman]

looks good Tony, did you get the Lumenarc mini's in canada? also did you get the wides or just regulars?

[Delphinus]

Oh I wouldn't hate you for saying, I'd just hate myself more for not looking longer. Part of the problem is this stuff is pretty foreign to me so I had trouble finding what I had in mind, as it was. Luckily AndyL on Canreef was able to set me up with this stuff for a pretty good deal so I was happy enough. I'm happy they're off my floor, they are gargantuan and heavy (way heavier than the light rack, there's irony). I had nightmare visions of dropping one on the tank and damaging the glass ... as it was I did drop one once and took out the eggcrate on the overflow. At least it's just eggcrate though, easily enough replaced.

John, they're just regulars. I didn't know there was a wide version of the mini's. I got them in a group order, er, about 2 years ago. Well, that's only sort of the story. I ordered two regulars initially in the group order, then decided they were too big because I want to flank the reflectors with T5's. So I traded with Michika for the mini's. Then I bought the third off Asmodeus. The irony is that even with the mini's I will still have very little clearance for the t5's. I might take a page out of Michika's/KrazyKuch's book and go with 24's mounted perpendicular. The main thing I want out of the t5's is a little actinic supplementation and a dusk/dawn effect so going with 24-inchers might just be the ticket .. they are cheaper and easier to get ahold of the 60-inchers..

[lastlight]

Good to see you're keeping the dream alive =)

If you need a hand lifting something let me know. I'm in the area and built like a wall (verge of collapse).

I was really looking forward to making a light rack as well but the wife vetoed that idea. Looks like you did a great job!

[cprowler]

Looking good Tony.

I look forward to following along!

[Jason McK]

Looks Great Tony, How did you make you aluminum light hanger. Mine is currently wood and I'd really like to change it. Could you share where you got your supplies and a cost? Pleeease

J

[Rbacchiega]

So when's the "Hey My Tank is finally full of water!" Barbeque?

[untamed]

The only time I really injured myself on my build was when I was installing those overhead tracks. Working directly above my head I dropped the screwdriver right onto my forehead and cut myself pretty badly.

I had to do the exact same thing as you...Find the crossing joists, measure and drill the track, then put it up and hope they lined up. Sounds like my measuring went somewhat better than yours! The stuff I used (KN Crowder) does not have any slotted version available.

btw...you can get small end plugs that you can install on the ends of the tracks that will prevent you from inadvertently rolling the lights right off the end of the track. Needless to say...that would be bad. I have some....have not gotten around to installing them.

[Delphinus]

Hit a wee snag tonight. Bummer, 3-4 days of progress without a showstopper was just begging for it though.

What's happened is I tried to modify the shuttle cars for the barndoor hangers to be able to hang the canopy from them. I used an eyehook upside-down with a locknut on the top to hold it in place. But the problem is the locknut can't clear the screws that are holding up the track (not even close, I tried yanking on it pretty hard).

So time for some headscratching. Either I find a different way to hang the lightframe, or I find a different way to mount the tracks. If I could just find some flush-ceiling mount brackets I'd be set, but I don't know where to buy such a thing. I might ask my blacksmith buddy if he's able to fabricate me something.

Anyhow, even though it's not working out, here are some pictures detailing what I had in mind.

This is the original shuttlecar ...


This is the exploded view of the modified shuttlecar..


I decided on turnbuckles just so there's wiggle room for adjustments in case it doesn't hang level. In retrospect the upside eye hook is way longer than it needs to be. It's a 5" bolt and a 2.5" would suffice. I was thinking I'll cut the bolts down to size or get shorter ones, but now with the fact that I can't roll the rollers in the track I guess I have some other homework to do in the meantime.

...

The lightframe itself is basically a box. The aluminum and all the brackets and bolts-n-nuts cost around $80 and everything came from Rona/Home Depot. I just looked through the metal bins and found this 3/4" aluminum square rod. I had the fantasy of having it welded at first but decided that brackets and bolts and screws are good enough.

The idea is that it's a box with three cross-bars on the top, at 25%, 50% and 75% (roughly) to evenly space out the reflectors. The whole thing put together weighs around 22lbs and is decently sturdy.

It occurs to me now that if all you wanted was to hang the lumenarcs then a box isn't even needed, just the top layer itself. I went with the box idea though so that the bottom layer is there for attaching T5's if I ever get around to buying them.

Here are some closeup shots showing details of the construction..