Hanging Fixture and Tank Maintenance

[layer3switchguy]

Folks,

Might be a silly question, but I'm curious how others manage tank maintenance with a hanging fixture.

My Powermodule hangs about 5" above the water line in my tank, and getting inside of it is a challenge. The hanging kit doesn't lend itself to raising or lowering the fixture very easily, and I'm curious what others are doing when it comes time to actually get into the tank. (I tend to need to scrape the rear glass of my tank 1 a week to keep the coralline algae in check)

Thanks,
L3

 

[layer3switchguy]

Bump.

 

[Mike31154]

My hanging set up uses a nice coated wire cable that came with a commercial fixture, some plastic chain and ceiling hooks normally used to hang regular light fixtures. The plastic chain is hooked to the ceiling hooks and the coated wire is fed through a link in the plastic chain farther down. When I need to raise the whole deal, I get on a chair, grab a plastic link lower down in the chain and hook that into the ceiling hooks without removing the links that are already attached. This way when I'm done fooling in the tank, I only need to unhook the links used to raise the fixture. Just make sure that the plastic chain is robust enough to support the weight of your fixture.

 

[ddaquaria]

Depending on how much room you need and the amount of room you have. I just tilt my PMs. This keeps me from having to readjust the height when I'm done. This works great for cleaning algae off the front glass.

 

[epleeds]

how would you go about changing the bulbs out when the time comes. do you take the fixture down or is there an easier way?