Hinged arm for mounting 48" AI Blade?

[Zinda]

Hi everyone! This is my first post and I'm building a new tank. I've lurked on r2r for many years. What a great resource!

I've got two 48" AI Blades that I want to mount on a 51" wide custom waterbox aquarium. I want them to be low to the water so they don't spill light into the room (maybe <= 4 inches above the water?). I also want to easily get them out of the way so I can mess around in the tank.

AI says that their elevated tank mounts don't work for anything larger than 39". I've seen that some people use them anyway, so that is an option, but I'd prefer an option that is easier to get out of the way.

Not everyone in my household is OK with hanging a light from the ceiling .

So, I think that leaves some kind of hinged arm. I have not had any luck finding a hinged arm that could mount two AI blades.

Any ideas or pointers?

 

[exnisstech]

Take a look at the light mount on my waterbox in my build thread. @Reefer Reboot designed it and may be able to help you out. Its is sweet being hinged. Also the vertical height is adjustable. There is a thread here where some design work being done you could post in.

 

[The_Paradox]

Just build it out of 2040 extrusion and put a 180° hinge at the joint.

 

[Zinda]

Take a look at the light mount on my waterbox in my build thread. @Reefer Reboot designed it and may be able to help you out. Its is sweet being hinged. Also the vertical height is adjustable. There is a thread here where some design work being done you could post in.

Maybe I'm being daft, but ... how do I find your build thread? I clicked the "My Aquarium Showcase" button under your name, but there isn't a good picture of your light there...

 

[Zinda]

Just build it out of 2040 extrusion and put a 180° hinge at the joint.

This is a good backup idea. I was hoping for something that would look a bit more finished than I think I'd be able to pull off building that myself, though.

 

[The_Paradox]

This is a good backup idea. I was hoping for something that would look a bit more finished than I think I'd be able to pull off building that myself, though.

You can buy all the pieces precut. All you need to do is drill and countersink the holes.

 

[Zinda]

Thanks for the suggestions! I thought I'd loop back with what I ended up doing. I decided that hanging the lights would allow me to adjust their height more easily since I have no idea what the right height will be, and I could use a few prebuilt kits to do it, cutting down on the DIYness of the project.

Hanging from the ceiling wasn't an option due to aesthetic opinions in the house, but I realized that hanging from an *arm* could still work. That would also allow the lights to be moved (like a hinge would) when needed.

Here's what I bought:
- An Orphek Universal Mounting Arm Kit to get a couple nice looking arms
- The AI Multi-Light Hanging Kit to get bars that hold the blades (no idea why this is not on the AI website...)
- An HMS hanging kit to connect the two

Here's what it looks like normally:

​

And, if I really need to get it out of the way, it can just be lifted and set on top of the arms (or just unscrewed from them to really move it away):

So, for everyday use I can just push the light around since it is hanging. I can put it on top for deep cleaning and tank work, or I can pretty easily remove it for something longer term.

We'll see how it works out!