Help with mouting lights!!

[phage]

I just moved, and am trying to mount my 2 250w HQI PFO mini pendants. Had no problems at the last place, but here there is some metal immediately after the drywall in my ceiling (duct? God knows what else?! its not over entire room, just the part i need to drill in of course) preventing me from drilling through to mount with toggle bolts. Has anyone had to come up with some creative mounting methods for very lightweight pendants before? any ideas? Thanks

[TexasState]

Take a look at the 90 degrees, shelf in your closet, see if something like that can be done to hang your canopy from.

[phage]

No canopy. Vinh, are you talking about using L brackets like what are used in shelves? I thought about that, but was wondering if anyone had any miracle ideas that I wouldn't think of. Right now, I have them hanging from a makeshift rack made from the metal bed extender from our truck! (works pretty well, though ugly as hell on the tank)

[VGB]

You dont want to drill duct-work but I would try to investigate what the metal was. Fear not metal, it can easily drilled and tapped.

Another solution which I used with my vaulted ceiling was to mount two 10 foot pine slats on the timbers.

If you can go on both sides away from the metal and use toggles to mount a thin slat...you can screw eye bolts into the wood.

[::pete::]

If you can, just put the toggle bolts further apart. The duct work has to be between framing so try the next joist over. The cables wont be hanging straight up and down, but you should miss the duct. Is it a one story or two ? You could climb in the attic to see whats in the way.

Pete

[fishtankrob]

what i did was got one of those oak shelves in the closet department at lowes and mounted the lights. It actually looks pretty good (wife aproval obtained) and it is cheep. If you are interisted i can send you a picture.

rob

[phage]

rob, I'd like to see that if you have a picture handy.

It's an apartment, not a house, 1st floor. So God knows what it is. It seems a little more substantial than ductwork metal, but I'm leery to drill through it. I check a few feet over, and there was no metal (of course its only over my tank). I think I may try mounting a board to the ceiling spanning the mystery metal, and then attach to that board. These pendants are very light, so I think that would be plenty. If not that, then I was gonna rig up something like rob said with a shelf.

[witecap4u]

Since our ceilings are appx 18ft high on the side of the house the tank is on, I went with a shelf above the tank. This will also give me a good place to put the ballasts with minimal wires showiing.

cs

[fishtankrob]

i will take a picture tonight. the shelves mount with those wing type ancors. no need for a big hole.

[reefer]

you could go with a welded metal brackets like i did with my tank. or you could by a guisemann adjustable light mount from aquatek, they come from germany, and take about 3 wks to get here and look very trick.
8)

[matt]

I think your idea of the boards to the ceiling, then suspending the cables from the boards, is probably as good as any. If necessary, you could hang a rod from the ceiling and attach your cables to that. I sort of did that to hang a hood over my last tank, except the rod went into parallel walls instead of the ceiling.

If you want to avoid any drilling into the ceiling and you have access to the back of your stand, you can atttach "posts" to the back of your stand which extend up, then put brackets on thos to hang a rod and suspend your fixtures from that. That's a lot of work, though.

Matt