Finding a way to create an aquarium light stand for hanging lights can be challenging. Most aquarium lights have legs that extend to the aquarium’s frame, making setup quite easy. However, some lights need to be hung above the fish tank. This article will discuss one way that I have created a DIY aquarium light stand for a hanging light using only conduit, spray paint, and straps. I made a video of this process for anyone interested, but I will provide a step-by-step process below with links to everything I used.
Gathering Materials
I wanted to try something different with a 40-gallon breeder aquarium. The goal was to use an LED Grow Light to get some powerful lighting above my soon-to-be fish tank. I jumped online and purchased the KingLED LED Grow Light (affiliate link). Unfortunately, the grow light I purchased needed to be hung above the aquarium. I was not able to simply rest legs on the frame of the aquarium. This predicament got me thinking of cheap and DIY ways to hang my LED lights.
I ran to Home Depot and purchased 1/2″ x 10ft. Conduit for $5.98. I didn’t think to bend the conduit with a conduit bender when I was on site. However, I’m glad I didn’t, so I can measure how much conduit I needed to hang over the fish tank. I didn’t get a clean 90-degree bend because I didn’t have a bender at home, but I made it work. While I was at Home Depot, I also purchased 1-Hole Speed Thread Straps (4-Pack) for $2.49. I also purchased HDX No Rust Black Spray Paint for $5.50. So far, excluding the light fixture, we have invested less than 15$ into this DIY aquarium light stand.
Prepping The Conduit & Thread Straps
Before screwing the parts onto the aquarium stand, I decided to spray paint the conduit and straps to make them a little more aesthetically pleasing. I bent the conduit after measuring where on the stand it was going to screw in, and how far above the aquarium I’d want it. After bending, I laid the conduit and straps on top of an old piece of cardboard and spray-painted one side of the material. Once dried, I flipped the material over and spray-painted the other side. After everything drys, it’s time to start screwing the conduit and thread Straps into position.
Putting it all Together
So everything is dried and ready to be set up. For this setup, I previously made an aquarium stand out of 2x4s, so I had plenty of wood to screw this light stand to. I did my best to eyeball where I wanted the lightstand to be. I started screwing in one of the thread straps but I made sure I did not screw it in too tightly. I didn’t overtighten the strap, so I can easily slide the conduit into place. Make sure the bend of the conduit is facing in the direction of the aquarium. Once the conduit was in place, I tightened the thread strap and installed another one to solidify the lightstand. After everything was in place, I hung the light above the aquarium and made sure everything was sturdy to avoid potential collapse. That’s all there is to setting this DIY light stand for hanging lights.
Final Notes
Hopefully, this quick tutorial on how to make an aquarium light stand was straightforward enough to help you set one up. I highly suggest you watch the video and follow along. It’s very easy to set up, but make sure you have a strong enough aquarium stand to handle the weight of a hanging light. There may be pre-built hanging lights available to purchase online, but you can’t go wrong with building one for 15 dollars.