# DIY dome light / CFL mounting above the tank?



## Beakman (Aug 7, 2012)

I've been using T5NOs and T8s on my low tech 30 gallon for a while, and I've been pretty happy with the growth I've seen.

Or, I was happy, until I bought a bayco clamp utility dome light from lowes, stuck in a 23 watt 6500k CFL, and clamped it to the side of my 10 gallon tank. In just a couple of weeks the growth I've seen with the CFL has far outclassed the growth I've seen in my 30 gallon with T5s.

So now, I'm playing with the idea of buying 2-3 more dome lights and mounting them above the 30 gallon but I don't know the best way of doing this.

I could just clamp them to the back or sides of the tank, but I don't want to do that because of the angle the light sits at and how it makes the room too bright.

Some people hang the lights from the ceiling by the power cord, but that isn't going to work in my situation.

And I don't use a hood, so I can't just rest them on top.


So, here is what I would like to do but I have no idea how to do this or where to start. I would love to have some kind of rail system that firmly attaches to the sides of the tank that would allow me to mount my dome lights so that the lights hang above the water and point straight down into the tank.

Hopefully there is already a tried and true method of doing this that someone can point me to, but if not, I would love to hear any suggestions on how to achieve this. Thanks!


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## ProndFarms (Sep 3, 2012)

I believe this is what you are referring to?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=153195&highlight=inexpensive+cfl+solution


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