Eliminated Electrical Cord Rats Nest
I had two powerstrips under my tank and it wasn't enough to handle all of my power cords because the timers and transformers would hog three sockets. It's also a pain to disconnect anything because the cords inevitablly get knotted.
Here's my electrical hardware list: Note that only the filter and diffuser have a normal two prong, polarized plug:
Light one
Light two
Moon light
UV
Heater
CO2 controller
Controller relay
filter
diffuser
My solution was to make the right side of my stand an electical panel, adding 10 outlets, where nine were wired independently with a single pole switch on the hot wire. Power is fed to the panel via a cord with two male plugs: one end goes to the panel and the other to the lone power strip outside the tank. I had to add a floor plug that has a ground fault breaker in the main house panel to power that strip. The ballasts to my lights are behind the panel as well. To control the lights, I've got the top outlet wired to feed power to the ballasts through the timer. The output from the ballast goes to the bottom outlet,which is where the light plugs in. I've used this sort of arrangment for years with no trouble.
Andrew, MASI Treasurer
This message is always under construction: 75-gallon tank; 2, Eheim 2026 filters - one twice broken; Tek Light with 4, 54W T5s (6000K) ; Sand on top of 4:1 sand:clay mixture; Milwaukee CO2 controller; PlantGuild vortex CO2 reactor; pH = 6.6, kH=70mg/l, GH=120mg/l; EI; Flourish excel on 50% weekly water change: AGA Member.