TimT
Member
- Joined
- 24 Jul 2013
- Messages
- 117
Here you'll find some pictures and info on a LED luminaire I have put together for my new 120x60x50 tank. I wanted to avoid hanging the light in the ceiling and I was looking for a more visually toned down solution than the one with the bars on each side of the cabinet (clothes rack-like solution). I like the design of the ADA Aquasky so I was trying to make something similar.
Before I go into the details on how to put it together here is a couple of pictures of the luminaire (sorry for the mess and the bad mobile pictures):
It is build from Plexiglas, some curtain rails and some basic aluminium rails. It can accommodate various LED DIY builds so I wont go into detail with that unless I get requests - but just let me know and I will make a thread on it.
Here is the basic schematic of the build:
It is *remarkably* rigid. Before starting I was afraid that it would be too flimsy. But now I'm more worried about the tank taken damage than the luminaire breaking which of course would be preferable if it gets a hit inadvertently. When looking at the picture above that side is of course more prone to tilting to the right due to the Plexiglas not going down so deep on that side. But for it to swing right it needs to move the far side of the luminaire to the right. But that is build with the long side to the other side (the curtain rack is precisely the same length as the distance between the outer Plexiglas frames). So it feel rock solid when giving it a nudge.
Here are some more pictures of the luminaire itself:
I sanded the Plexiglas with 3 different grades of sandpaper on the sides facing out to make them look good compared to the raw Plexiglas. You could go for an even more polished finish but that would make the bolts stand out even more.
Here are some details on the curtain rack that acts as a cooling rail and fixture for the LEDs:
The curtain rack I used is this one:
KVARTAL Triple track rail - IKEA
I found the two other aluminium rails in store that sells tools and construction materials (sorry, don't know the English name). I think they are used when putting a carpet on stairs.
Things to be aware of and/or improve:
Cheers,
/Tim
Before I go into the details on how to put it together here is a couple of pictures of the luminaire (sorry for the mess and the bad mobile pictures):
It is build from Plexiglas, some curtain rails and some basic aluminium rails. It can accommodate various LED DIY builds so I wont go into detail with that unless I get requests - but just let me know and I will make a thread on it.
Here is the basic schematic of the build:
It is *remarkably* rigid. Before starting I was afraid that it would be too flimsy. But now I'm more worried about the tank taken damage than the luminaire breaking which of course would be preferable if it gets a hit inadvertently. When looking at the picture above that side is of course more prone to tilting to the right due to the Plexiglas not going down so deep on that side. But for it to swing right it needs to move the far side of the luminaire to the right. But that is build with the long side to the other side (the curtain rack is precisely the same length as the distance between the outer Plexiglas frames). So it feel rock solid when giving it a nudge.
Here are some more pictures of the luminaire itself:
I sanded the Plexiglas with 3 different grades of sandpaper on the sides facing out to make them look good compared to the raw Plexiglas. You could go for an even more polished finish but that would make the bolts stand out even more.
Here are some details on the curtain rack that acts as a cooling rail and fixture for the LEDs:
The curtain rack I used is this one:
KVARTAL Triple track rail - IKEA
I found the two other aluminium rails in store that sells tools and construction materials (sorry, don't know the English name). I think they are used when putting a carpet on stairs.
Things to be aware of and/or improve:
- I would warn against gluing the Plexiglas together. I was unable to slide it down over the tank side without loosening the bolts. If I had glued them I would have to discard the build even though the middle Plexiglas is the same thickness as the aquarium glass.
- The middle Plexiglas could be substituted for several strips of Plexiglas instead of just one big slate. That would decrease the weight (although not a problem) and even allow for the wire to be run between the inner and outer Plexiglas.
- Perhaps white hard plastic bolts would be more visually pleasing than the metal ones? I wasn't able to find any in time but overall the bots are the least visually pleasing element of the build.
- Make sure your LED solution is dimmable unless you modify the build to allow the lights to be raised and lowered to adjust the lightning level.
Cheers,
/Tim