Lamp stand to suspend heat lamps a bit above the screen.... Opinions?

[trickedoutbiker]

I've been looking into a heat lamp stand to suspend my heat lamps about the screen mesh of my cage. The reason for this being is, that when I get my auto-mister setup soon, I don't want the spray to go up more than it should and get on my heat lamps, frying them/shorting them/starting a fire.

Now I understand I could always aim my misting nozzles a little more downwards as to prevent this from happening, but what if I want to mist the top'ish area of the cage too - cuz there are plants up there - and I'm worried that spraying too high to reach those plants, will result in a bit of overspray out the top of the cage and ruin my lights....

I mean, it could probably be solved by simply moving the plants down just a bit, and using only fake plants at the very very top. Or just aim the nozzles more downwards.

Does anyone else use a lamp stand for their cages?

Here are three that I found, but there are mixed reviews on both so I'm not sure how well they work...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop



The problem with the ZOO MED ones, is that I would have to slide the bottom of the lamp stand under something heavy to stabilize the light. If my cage was small, I could slide it under the cage no problem. But my cage is 48" tall, and the full size ZOO MED only extends to 36" tall. The economy size it smaller. So for those two, I would have to put them on top of the cage, set something heavy on the stabilizer bar, and let it be like that. Idk what I would put up there that is heavy though, other than my dripper, which will becoming lighter with time as the water drips out. So that's not a good idea. The Exo Terra one is basically super strong double-sided tape that you put on the cage. Some people said it falls off after a few weeks or months. And some people said it never falls off, and is actually a pain to GET off (taken from many reviews on Amazon) ---- So if I got that one and it ever DID fall..... A possible heat lamp on a floor is NOT a good idea at all....

So I'm stuck what to do. I'm in an apartment and don't want to get a chain from the ceiling to hang down to top of cage. And I've heard of some people using PVC to make one; I'm not hand nor do I probably have tools to do that. :-( Maybe a hook stand for like hats or something? Or does anyone know an idea, or a place I can get a nice talk stand to hold a double dome light?

 

[alphakenc]

Since u can not extend the length of the lamp bar...,can u at least find some cement blocks or some type of the stand to boost the heights from the bottom part from the ground up??

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

Can you show a pic of your set up?

 

[Carlton]

Since u can not extend the length of the lamp bar...,can u at least find some cement blocks or some type of the stand to boost the heights from the bottom part from the ground up??

I have a couple of those ZooMed lamp stands and had the same problem. Solved it by attaching a 2x4 vertically to one of the cage frame corners (zip tied through the mesh at several points) and attaching a shelf bracket or simple wooden shelf to the 2X4. Make it big enough to hold the stand, position it at the height necessary so the lamp bar reaches over the top of the cage. Stabilize the lamp stand on the shelf with a simple wood clamp. There are indoor plant light fixture stands on the market that may have more reach than ZooMed's dinky little stands, but they tend to be expensive. They might give you some other ideas however. I know you can buy light fixture pulley & cord assemblies you could use to make your own stands attached to the cage frame.

Still, this would take some DIY time and energy, so check whether your apartment management would mind if you put in ONE ceiling hanger hook. There are all sorts of drywall-friendly ceiling light hangers on the market whose attachment holes are pretty easy to repair when you move. Hanging one heat spot in a dome fixture isn't that hard. Just need longer extension cords for the lamp.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

I will have to do some more looking around as far as the plant hanger hook things. Or maybe I will rig one up.

Can you show a pic of your set up?

I would, but it's not all set up yet. That's the thing. And it's not gonna be where I want it, cuz where it is now is going to change in two weeks cuz I move. So it be a little easier to figure out then. I'm do some more research till then....