I Dont Know How To Mount My Canopy

gio28

gio28

Active Member
im planning to build a canopy for my lights. i dont want it to be sitting on the edge of my tank but somehow fixed around 4" above it. chains or cables arent an option for me so i need something like mounting legs. i could buy these online if i had a specific fixture but i dont. im planning on putting a MH 150watt pendant inside the canopy as well as a 24watt T5 light on each side of the MH.
so basically any way to suspend the wood canopy im building above my tank without the use of cables from the ceiling. any ideas? thanks.
 
mech-a-nic

mech-a-nic

Member
You could get shelf brackets and hang them to the wall then suspend them off the the "Shelf"
You can get some nice wood ones premade from any hardware store
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
thats a really good idea. im not sure i can do it though because my tank isnt directly against the wall.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
that could work...

i just gotta see if my parents will give me the ok to drill a few holes in the wall lol, if they require to be screwed in or not. hopefully they do cause thats a real good idea.
 
mech-a-nic

mech-a-nic

Member
most just need 1 screw. If you get lucky and a Stud is right there you are good to go. If not use "wall Molies" to help to hold in the drywall.

Glad to help
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
my mom said that i dont need any more holes in my wall lol...so she wont let me do the shelf brackets. so maybe something that is more like mounting legs. any ideas anyone? im stuck again.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Why mount a canopy??? I have a 90g tank with MH lighting and a retrofit MH lighting...the retrofits needed to be at least 5 inches from the water...I gave it 6.
If you just want to raise it to accommodate the lights...Flip the canopy over, look at the small blocks that are used as contact points where it rests on the tank. To those same small blocks nail and wood glue another set of blocks the same size leaving a lip so it won't slide off the tank. This will raise your tank another 3 inches.
Remove the hinged lid...attach your lights to the canopy itself.
The instructions on the retrofits warn to use glass to separate the lights from the water.. I had an old glass aquarium top. I separated the top which gave me two narrow pieces of glass which perfectly fit the tank. I place these small narrow slats directly under the lights...they have to be washed often but the lights and tank are protected.
Hope this helps.
 
caspervtx

caspervtx

Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3100249
my mom said that i dont need any more holes in my wall lol...so she wont let me do the shelf brackets. so maybe something that is more like mounting legs. any ideas anyone? im stuck again.
So don't drill. I can't remember where I saw it but there is a "stand" that is essentially nothing but a thin metal "wire" (sorry its early) coming from the floor up and over the tank. This then acts as a support for one end of a light fixture.
Just because you can't drill into the wall doesn't mean you can not hang things over the tank. Just takes some looking around and thought.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Mech-a-nic
http:///forum/post/3100362
Put 2x4s to the back of the stand vertical and extend them 8" past the top. Mount your brackets there .

This will hold a light, and is a great idea...but it won't hold a canopy.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
do you have pictures of your lights. are they a wood canopy or just a light fixture??????????????
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
i dont have a canopy yet (if i decide to build one) and im picking up my 150watt MH pendant in a few days. the thing is i have no way to mount the pendant over the water since it needs to be far away cause of heat. i wouldnt need a canopy for the pendant cause i could just mount that but i plan on retrofit t5s later on so i would need some kind of canopy for those.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3100449
i dont have a canopy yet (if i decide to build one) and im picking up my 150watt MH pendant in a few days. the thing is i have no way to mount the pendant over the water since it needs to be far away cause of heat. i wouldnt need a canopy for the pendant cause i could just mount that but i plan on retrofit t5s later on so i would need some kind of canopy for those.

I think pendants come, or you can get some kind of clip for the tank.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
this one is off craigslist and the guy said i would have to find a way to mount it. normally id drill a few holes in the top of the pendant and hang it but since my mom dosent want anything in her ceiling or touching her wall its kinda hard to find out how to do it. some sort of DIY mounting legs would work...but idk how to build those
 
mech-a-nic

mech-a-nic

Member
2 2x4s drilled and screwed into the stand will hold a canopy is its made of 1xs or less you just put the canopy top resting on the shelf brackets. You will be building a shelf with sides. Most shelf brackets will hold 75 to 100 lbs with no problem. If there going to be hid in the canopy you can get the hevy duty metal ones if you wanted.
If you were near NC I would be glad to give ya a hand
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
thats a great idea...im gonna go ahead and try it.
but instead of the 2x4s could i use these: (and the brackets i think would lock into them)
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Mech-a-nic
http:///forum/post/3100548
2 2x4s drilled and screwed into the stand will hold a canopy is its made of 1xs or less you just put the canopy top resting on the shelf brackets. You will be building a shelf with sides. Most shelf brackets will hold 75 to 100 lbs with no problem. If there going to be hid in the canopy you can get the hevy duty metal ones if you wanted.
If you were near NC I would be glad to give ya a hand

That won't work...The canopy is the exact size of the tank top...your figure shows the bracket under the canopy..it won't fit over the top that way. You might try putting the 2x4s on the outside instead of the inside.
 
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