Ideas how to hang MH light fixture from concrete ceiling?

[Aimforever]

I'm moving this summer and upgrading to a 120 gallon Oceanic Tech tank. I have a 36" Maristar MH+T5 fixture that I am going to use with the tank, but after viewing our new apartment I wasn't sure how I could hang it. The fixture is quite heavy and has 4 attachment points. The ceiling in our new apartment (urban loft style) is 11 feet and is exposed concrete.

Since the fixture is shorter than the 48" tank, using the Maristar tank mounting kit isn't an option. I am also hesitant to drill the ceiling, and the property company probably wouldn't allow it anyway... but I can't think of any other way that would be a safe and viable alternative to drilling. Even if I was going to drill, I'm not sure exactly what kind of hardware to use.

Can anyone help me think outside the box on this one and come up with a way to mount the fixture? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[bassetbros]

Have you thought of mounting some type of decorative brackets (like the ones used for hanging flower pots outdoors) to the wall? My current tank is set up this way but it's holding pendants instead of a fixture.

Depending on what is inside your wall (I have 3/4" plywood behind plaster), you could mount the brackets directly to the wall. If there aren't any good attachment points you could cut a small strip of 3/4" plywood (or use a nice 1"X4") and attach that to the studs in the wall then attach the fixture to the plywood or 1x4. I purchased my brackets from Home Depot. Just be sure the brackets will hold the light out from the wall far enough and you should be good. The ones I am using take the pendant 23" from the wall (the back of my 75 gallon is 5" away from the wall).

Also, If you could find out the color of paint on the walls you could paint the plywood/1x4 as well.

God bless,
Basset

[Aimforever]

That's a great idea! Do you happen to have any pictures of your setup? They told us the building was all concrete construction (and hence much quieter), so I'm not sure if there are studs or concrete behind the drywall. I would assume studs, but am not totally sure. I will have to look into this. Are drywall holes easy to repair?

The one other thing that I've been trying to figure out is if there are any pendant hanging fixtures that would be able to support this size fixture. I have seen a few pictures of pendants hanging from an arced metal pole over the tank, and was thinking maybe I could use one at each end of the fixture. I'm not sure if this is feasible or not though...

[mile sq. reefer]

http://www.zeroedgeaquarium.com/Brackets.htm

[x2uranium]

Hammer Drill w/ masonry bit and Tapcon screws

[Gomer]

This was my solution. It was originally a FW planted tank so the top shelf was for plants. Likewise it can be used to store non ugly things.

I always favored a little function.

[x2uranium]

Oh.. and they will hold a truck hanging from the ceiling

[Lagger]

Originally posted by x2uranium
Hammer Drill w/ masonry bit and Tapcon screws

Yeap, red head screws, u name it.

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by x2uranium
Hammer Drill w/ masonry bit and Tapcon screws

Very cool. Thanks for the idea. Is a normal drill out of the question for drilling these holes? I don't have a hammer drill, but maybe I could find somewhere that rents them out.

The rated load of these screws is impressive.

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by Gomer
This was my solution. It was originally a FW planted tank so the top shelf was for plants. Likewise it can be used to store non ugly things.

I always favored a little function.

This is another great idea. Thanks for your input. I am going to try and figure out what the walls are made of under the drywall to see if I can do this.

[James77]

A normal drill isn't out of the question-but its ALOT slower, and may not work at all. Any Home Depot rental, etc would have one- they are only about $60 brand new(they also function as a normal drill).

[laud]

A normal drill will do it. Just don't let the concrete dust fall into the tank.

[Dyraxe]

Most drills now days have the hammer option just look for the picture of a hammer by the chuck.

[uh duh]

or concrete epoxy would work

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by Dyraxe
Most drills now days have the hammer option just look for the picture of a hammer by the chuck.

Hmm... I have a 18V cordless Milwaukee drill, and don't see such a setting. Can you buy a hammer chuck for a drill like mine?

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by uh duh
or concrete epoxy would work

I did a few searches for products claiming to be capable of doing this, but all I was able to come up with were epoxies designed to repair concrete. Do you happen to have any links to what you were referring too, or is it one in the same?

[tundra1000]

I would not trust the epoxy. If the surface is fairly smooth it may not bond great and that would mean fried fish. Tapcon is the way to go. Use the appropriate size drillbit usually sold right near the screws, and you won't need to go very big. When you remove them I doubt any one would notice 11 feet off the ground. The simplest solution would be to tapcon a piece of wood blocking, paint a length of 2x4 or something like that and then mount one perpendicular to the length of your tank at each end of the tank and mount your fixture to that. That will give you a little play for alignment too.

Good luck-

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by tundra1000
I would not trust the epoxy. If the surface is fairly smooth it may not bond great and that would mean fried fish. Tapcon is the way to go. Use the appropriate size drillbit usually sold right near the screws, and you won't need to go very big. When you remove them I doubt any one would notice 11 feet off the ground. The simplest solution would be to tapcon a piece of wood blocking, paint a length of 2x4 or something like that and then mount one perpendicular to the length of your tank at each end of the tank and mount your fixture to that. That will give you a little play for alignment too.

Good luck-

Well said. I appreciate the idea of using painted 2x4s, as I had been trying to figure out how to get the light hanging hardware secured by the Tapcom screws. This seems like a simple yet effective solution.

[bassetbros]

Originally posted by Aimforever
That's a great idea! Do you happen to have any pictures of your setup? They told us the building was all concrete construction (and hence much quieter), so I'm not sure if there are studs or concrete behind the drywall. I would assume studs, but am not totally sure. I will have to look into this. Are drywall holes easy to repair?

The one other thing that I've been trying to figure out is if there are any pendant hanging fixtures that would be able to support this size fixture. I have seen a few pictures of pendants hanging from an arced metal pole over the tank, and was thinking maybe I could use one at each end of the fixture. I'm not sure if this is feasible or not though...

Drywall is pretty easy to repair. The screws you would use wouldn't have to be very big either...just long enought to screw through to the stud.

The brackets I have stated that they would hold 75 lbs so I don't think weight would be an issue.

Sorry but I don't have any pics of my setup at the moment.

God bless,
Chris

[barfish]

your drill may work with a masonry bit. just work it in and out slowly to pull the ground crete out. ive done it with a corded drill many times. i really like this shelf idea. how do you thing it would look for a 72inch fixture. i hate canopies.

[carlisimo1969]

Tapcon screws work great, very simple. The difference between using a regular or hammer drill is significant but it's not impossible, the bit will get hot and your arm will be tired. I've done both, and with the hammer drill I can do about 8 in the same time as 1 with non-hammer (seems to wear the bit out faster). I've glued some darn heavy things to concrete with Gorilla glue too. But you might destroy it trying to get it off again!