Show me pictures of your tanks electrical setup

J

Jacob

Trying to decide what to do for my new tank setup. Show me a picture of what you did to provide the needed outlets to your tank or describe it to me.
 
Er, I'd post pictures, but there might be an insurance adjuster reading these forums...

Basically, I've got a dedicated 20 amp GFCI outlet, with surge suppressors/power strips plugged into it. (And no, they're not the Corarlife ones!)

Oh, and lots and lots of X10 modules... :)

Were I to do it all over again, I'd prolly do something fancy like mount junction boxes to a piece of board, wire outlets into them, and put the whole thing inside of some sort of extra box. Not very detailed, because I haven't fully thought it out because I have no desire to re-do everything...
 
I have two 4 ft long power bars that are sold at Frys for $25 each. The outlets are all spaced about 3" apart so there is plenty of room for timers and lots of outlets in it. I have them mounted at the top inside the stand. I daisy chain off one of them with a DJ power switch for 8 devices, which is plenty imo. I have my skimmer, main pump, 2 streams, maintenance light, calc reactor, and topoff plugged into it. Total cost of $75 and didn't have the labor of building something potentially unsafe.
 
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From left to right, top row:

VHO, MH Left, MH Middle, MH Right, EMPTY

X10 controller, Heater, Heater, pH Controller/MaxiJet1200, Co2 Shutoff/Mag 7(calcium reactor circulation)

Grounding Probes, EMPTY, EMPTY, Aqua Controller II, EMPTY

Tunze Stream, Phosban Reactor, Euro-Reef Skimmer, Tunze Stream, Return pump


Each outlet has a small label on the coverplate. T1 - T8 are the top 8 switches on the DJ Power Center. B1 - B8 are the bottom 8 switches.

Each switch is labeled so that I can turn off the appropriate device. When I need to turn off the skimmer, I don't have to unplug two Sedra 5000 pumps. I flip the switch and both pumps shut off. And if I have to find the right plugs, I match the button to the correct outlet and know what the plug goes to. So if I turn off B3, the plugs go to the skimmer. If I turn off T3, all equipment associated with the Calcium Reactor is shut off at once, which is really nice.

The top powerstation is plugged into a 20amp GFCI circuit, and the bottom one is not. Since a GCFI can trip (nuisance trip), I don't want it shutting down the tank. Everything plugged in the top unit is something that might possibly hurt me, like the heaters or my accidentally pulling the light rack into the water. I want the breaker to trip and save my life.

The bottom set runs on a regular 20 amp circuit, and keeps the pumps running which provides circulation to the tank even if the lights and heaters are off (as mentioned above). This has really worked out well over the past 11 months.
 
Showoff! :wink:

My reefing budget is bigger than YOUR reefing budget! NOT! Man, sometimes I wish I didn't have to get spousal approval!
 
Jacob,

You would have looked closer at mine when you were here picking up the tank ;)

I have 5 direct connect modules from Neptune Systems all controlled by an Aquacontroller III Pro. Three of the modeles are on one 15 amp circuit and the other two are on another circuit. I made a spreadsheet and calculated the amps and watts for the equipment and then evenly divided it between the two circuits. Two are overhead on top of the canopy. The other three are attached to the underside of the stand. Cords naturally form a drip point and no way the water can get in the outlets. Guess I need to update my build thread.

Cheers!
 
Man those look nice! If sparky the fire dog were to look at my setup he would be barking his head off. I do have it on dedicated circuits with GFCI outlets but from there it is just mayheim.
One of my problems is I have never shorten my cords. I have an eight-foot cord on my CF actinics and the ballast sits less than a foot from the plug. So the cord is just coiled up. Looks alot worse than it really is.
I am moving the end of this year so I guess I will start designing!
 
I went ahead and made a webpage about my electrical for my site, based on what I'd posted in this thread.

http://www.melevsreef.com/power_panel.html
 
@mwolek wrote:
Whats with the T# 's on each outlet? said:
T stands for Top (top set of switches on the American DJ Power Center)
B stands for Bottom (bottom set of switches)

Each switch has a number, and I labeled each outlet with the matching number so I know what will be powered off when I turn off that corresponding switch. All this is explained in detail on the webpage I linked.
Click to expand...
 
@mwolek wrote:
Whats with the T# 's on each outlet? said:
Were you asking about in Mark's picture or Marc's picture?

If Mark's then my answer applies, if Marc's then his answer applies.
Click to expand...
 
oh BTW, obviously I don't have the timers bought yet. That is what the cords will be plugged into (in the picture they are in the outlet, just to hold them)...
 
Alright, here's my modest entry into the DIY electrical panel. I needed something that would fit a 10 gallon resevior tank on top and enough storage to hold 3 ballasts, my reefkeeper, diy ca reactor and anything else that I needed close by. I ended up finding a slightly scratched cabinet at Lowes for $30, so I figured why not.

And now for the pictures:

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If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. More info on my tank can be found in my thread under New 120 on the way under the Reef Discussion bullet.

Thanks,
Chris
 
I'm getting ready to re-do my electrical cabinet when I get some new equipment in and have a question to ask.

Does anyone know what the black material that the owner of this cabinet mounted his/hers equipment to?

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Chris
 
eh, could be anything, but it looks like wood. if you want rack stuff, altex electronics has a lot of rack building gear at the back of the store. Tons of it.

Larry
 
Chris, I also have some brushed aluminum and painted steel rack uprights (missing the bases) if you are interested. They would just need to be cut to length and spaced out to the proper 19". They would work great for the power centers since they are made to be racked anyway.

I'm wiring my dual GFCI circuits this weekend. Pulled wires today, hooking up tomorrow. Hopefully will have the wall remodeling finished tomorrow also. I'm going to have to revive my thread once I get a chance to load all the pics and write it up. Been busy building everything the last few weekends.

Tony,

How are you liking the Fry's strips. I was checking them out the other day and couldn't decide if they would be good for long term use. They say not for aquarium use specifically.... not that that scares me :lol: have you seen any issues (rust, stuck plugs, etc.) with yours after using them a while?
 
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