CraigThor

hoppy something like in this link maybe smaller.

http://www.hooverfence.com/woodfence/slideblatch.htm

Craig

hoppycalif

It ends up against the wall, about 10 inches above the top of the tank, giving great access to the tank for maintenance.

I ended up with this design after trying to use drawer slides to make it easy to shove the fixture back from above the tank. But, I only have 4 inches clearance between the tank and the wall, so I couldn't make it go far enough back. Then I decided to also hinge it so it would slide back and then tilt up. But, that left the light shining in my face. Then I remembered the parallelogram linkage, and spent a couple of days playing with that before I understood how to optimize it. Now I think I have what I wanted - good access, nothing above the light to see, easy to change bulbs, an open tank top, and no cooling fan needed. It is a pretty cheap thing to try out, since I will use my existing AH Supply light kit.

hoppycalif

Great idea! A small, simple version of that can sit on top of the wall mounting and either slide into a hole in the back link, or just block the movement of the back link. As I recall, Ace Hardware has some little brass ones that might work.

CraigThor

yup, I had to google it to find that picture but it should work great.

newbie314

Sorry should have been blue collar. Has lots of misc. stuff. Like already cut plexi-glass. You don't have to buy a whole sheet. Take a long strip.
I got aircraft aluminum piece for making my brake bracket on my electric scooter.

hoppycalif

I found that Blue Collar place in the phone book, but I already visited Emigh Hardware. They had little or no aluminum, but lots of iron bars. I quickly found out that aluminum bars wouldn't be strong enough, since the iron was just about the right strength. So I bought a 4 foot piece of 1/8" by 1/2" weldable steel bar. That will make the 4 parallelogram links.

My wife objected to my MDF fixture box, so she "persuaded" me to cover it with oak veneer. That will likely be the job for tomorrow. I'm up to $29 for materials now, but very little else to buy.

hoppycalif

I made the links and the wall mount board, and assembled it for the first time today:


The first lesson I learned is that it will take two barrel bolts to lock this in the "UP" position. With only one it twists very badly, which is obvious when I look at it. But, the concept seems to work just fine. I can't photograph it in the up position now because I don't have enough hands to hold it up and take the photo too. Tomorrow I will mount this on a piece of scrap plywood to simulate the wall, then install the barrel bolts. My costs are now up by another $9, plus $15 for contact cement for the veneer and a can of Rustoleum paint for the links.

CraigThor

Looking good, would like something like this for my 75. what size tank is this going on? Mine is 4'

Craig

Tex Gal

Hoppy it looks good. If there were something you could use other than that heavy MDF. I was gonna suggest the faux wood grain finish to match your tank trim. You would use a graining tool and 2 tone stain/paint. Sounds like you have it solved with veneer.

hoppycalif

My tank is a 45 gallon tank, only 30" wide (actually closer to 29"). The wider the tank the harder it will be for the linkage not to twist. If I were going to try it on a 48" wide tank I think I would put more room between the two links on each side, which requires the tank be further from the wall, if you want to raise it a significant amount. And, I would use 1" x 1/8" steel bar for the links, for more stiffness. Then I think you could raise the fixture with one hand, push the barrel bolt in place to lock one side, then switch hands and push it in on the other side to lock it. Since raising it would be for major maintenance only, it can be a bit awkward and not be a problem. Or, two people could easily raise it and lock it up.

Before I am willing to say I like this, I want to get it finished and installed. So, the "jury is still out".