Hanging Aqualine Spacelight Fixture

[Jimmy G]

I am considering purchasing the 72" fixture. How far apart are the hanging cables on the fixture? I am concerned about whether the studs in my ceiling will be whwere I need them to be to hang evenly. Just wondering what some of you have done.
Also, I am leaning towards the 3MH150 wattx 4 PC fixture. Is the 250 watt worth the extra money? I have soft corals and some LPS and maybe some SPS in the future. I am concerned about heat being an issue. The tank is 125 gallons.

Thanks Jimmy

 

[monkeyboy]

I think they're around 6" off each side, so that would be 5' in between the cords. Don't quote me on that though. Generally the tank dictates where the light will hang so we usually screw in a 1" thick boards into at least 2 studs and the light can be hung off of that. If you router and paint the wood it doesn't look half bad! Good luck.

 

[dsb1829]

From AB's site:

Mounting:

The ceiling plate (1) must be securely screwed to the ceiling. Suitable screws and plugs are provided but you should ensure your ceiling is capable of holding the weight of the luminaire in this way. It may be necessary to use specialised cavity plasterboard fixings or to screw through into blocks you have fitted behind the ceiling. The suspension points are 14 cm from each end of the aquastarlight. The distance between suspension point centers is therefore:

single lamp ( 60 cm total length) : 32 cm

twin lamp ( 120 cm total lenght) : 92 cm

triple lamp (180 cm total lenght): 158 cm

Here is their addy should you like some more info:
http://www.ab-aqualine.de/eng/index_e.htm

 

[reefland]

The cable points are not 16 inch on center which is standard stud placement. Even if it was it wouldn't matter as where the studs are still might not center Aquaspace unit to your tank.

By some freak accident, the studs in my ceiling are parellel to the tank and I had a stud perfectly centered length wise to the tank. Mounting it was simple - done in 20 minutes.

I have helped others hang these units with studs perpendicular to the tank. In such cases the studs did not line up for hanging. For this we got a length of 1x2 wood which was secured to many studs with long wood screw. (use standard stud finder to know where to attach) Then hung the Aquaspace unit from this wood strip. Works perfectly. Wood can be painted to match ceiling if needed.

A tip on where to screw in the anchors to the ceiling:

I made a full scale mockup of the Aquaspace fixture including mount holes out of cardboard. (much easier to work with since my AB unit weighs near 80 lbs.) Placed this mockup on top of the tank perfectly centered to where I wanted it. Then hung a length of string with a pointed weight (bullet weight used in fishing). Where the weight hung perfectly over the holes on the mockup showed exactly where to mount the ceiling anchors. Marked and then drilled as directed. End result was a perfectly hung and centered light fixture.

 

[nollem]

Be careful with the quoted dimensions though - your light will probably be slightly different. One of the mounting holes on mine is about 1/4" off from the spec. They must assemble them by hand or something.

I mounted mine [48" version] into a 2x6 because the tank center sits 2" or so off from under a stud. The 2x6 is then screwed into the stud.

I have an AGA 55 with a 35g refugarium, and with the light hanging the specified 12" above the water, and on 10hrs a day, I haven't had any heat problems [I keep the tank at about 82]. I'm not running a chiller or anything, and the ambient temp is around 75. I have the aquaspacelight 2x150 HQI w/2x24 PC actinics.

It's a sweet lamp!

 

[Anonymous]

Yup - most are finding that using a mounting board spanning studs is the best way to go.

 

[Jimmy G]

Thanks all. Sounds easy enough. Now I gotta work up the guts to spend the $$$$$ was it worth it for you guys?

 

[MattM]

I hate to throw another option into the mix, but...

The Giesemann pendants are comparable to the AquaMedic, maybe a little better build quality, but the same bulb complement, general size, etc.

However, on the Giesemann's, the point where the hanging wire attaches to the pendant is adjustable. The attachment points are screwed into a captive nut that rides in a T-slot on the top of the pendant. You can slide them them anywhere you want and line them up exactly with your joists.

There are photos of the Giesemann pendants at the store's web site (link below).