Aquarium Heat Lamp Suspended With Suction Cups

A quick project I made for an elementary school's classroom pet, a bearded dragon in a glass aquarium. The lamp couldn't be attached to the wall or from the ceiling and since the lamp gets hot it was dangerous to rest it on top where the children would have to move it to get to the lizard. The lamp support is built from 1" aluminum bar and a piece of 2" aluminum bar, suction cups were used to attach the lamp to the side of the aquarium.

I lucked out finding the perfect suction cups, at n Axman Surplus Store, they originally had some metal hooks but were easily removed. The hole sizes for the aluminum bar was chosen to be small as possible but still allow the suction cup nipples to fit into, but not come back out. 

To start, a coat hanger was used to get the basic dimensions and angles figured out, as it is easy to bend and change to fit the aquarium. The dimensions were used to cut and bend the 1" aluminum bar. The end was notched and filed smooth for the lamp cord to fit into. Three holes were marked, drilled and tapped to allow screws, that will hold the lamp cord. The 2" aluminum bar was cut to length, the ends rounded and filed smooth. Marked, drilled and filed the holes for the suction cups and the center for some pop rivets. Sanded and painted the parts separately, with a green to blue fade, gave it a rainbow-glitter clear coat(some Krylon brand paint, pictures don't show it, but it is quite neat) Pop riveted the 2 painted pieces together and forced the suction cups in to their holes.

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