Wires, getting rid of the spaghetti mess

[mr9iron]

I would like to see some ideas on "clean" looking stands. My sump is in my stand and I have mounted my PC4s but I hate the wires. I am looking for ideas, as I am a very visual person and would love to see how you cleaned your wire mess up.

[naterealbig]

I tried to start a thread regarding this topic, but it died off quickly. I'd be interested to see if more people chime in on this one.

[gveng]

zip ties and lots of them. also, what helps me is organizing each wire one after the other as you go. this way you don't get lazy.

[tebstan]

My wire mess is tamed with a box I stuffed all the cords in. :)

I don't have a fancy controller, but I have a ton of timers and power strips. I have all of the cords going from behind the tank about 2 feet to the right, were I have everything mounted in a hidden alcove. When looking at the tank, all you see is the box that is painted the same color as the wall.

There's one power strip for things I turn off to clean - return pump, power heads.
There's one power strip for things that can stay on - skimmer, reactor
There's one power strip for all the lights - 3 T5 ballasts and an LED moonlight strip
There's one power strip for fans - 1 on sump, 1 on canopy, & a tower fan behind
There's one power strip left open - used to pump water into the sump when cleaning.

Every item is labeled, extension cords are labeled at both ends, and timers are labeled.

The tank is all on one dedicated circuit.

Hanging above the electrical board is all my flashlights (red, headlamp, blue LED), nets, and a camera.

Ignore the dust bunnies and cat toys...

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/CordTowerrearview8-31-10.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/CordTower8-31-10.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/ElectricalWallUnit8-31-10.jpg

[ingtar_shinowa]

tebstan, i think you could have bought a reef controller for all the money to put in those digital timers! Very neat job though!~

[biecacka]

very true!!!! but its cheaper as you buy timers one at a time then it is to buy a controller. i know cause it was me until i recently found a used acjr
corey

[tebstan]

Some of those timers were used for other things before - bird and reptile habitats, plant lights. I only had to buy two of them, and they're cheap. I only had to buy one extension cord too, everything else was pillaged from boxes of christmas decorations.

[tebstan]

Whats an acjr? People have told me I should get an rkl, but what I have works fine, so why go messing with it? There's so much stuff crammed in there I hate to even take a pump out to clean it. I drag a bucket of water next to the tank so I don't have to unravel any cords.

[active]

this is an awesome unit for under the tank and tie the wires with zip ties
http://www.amazon.com/American-Pc-100A-Mount-Power-Switcher/dp/B0002GL50Q/

[joel913]

what i have done so far is just use a bunch of zip ties and tied them to my stand supports. looks very clean so far

[Metal Man 1221]

Whats an acjr? People have told me I should get an rkl, but what I have works fine, so why go messing with it? There's so much stuff crammed in there I hate to even take a pump out to clean it. I drag a bucket of water next to the tank so I don't have to unravel any cords.

The aquacontoller Jr is like the rkl but made by neptune systems. However the aquacontoller line has been discontinued and replaced by the Apex line up.

[aleonn]

So far I've only used zipties. I tried using pegboards a long time ago, but they only made things look messier LOL.

[ReeferEric]

Zip ties are just a simple fix. I recommend wire loom if the wires are 18 gauge, for the wires that plug into the wall, use the spiral wrap. They sell them at walmart. There is actually a section to help clean the wires up.

[shaggss]

try these. works very well:

http://esgllc-usa.com/Canalplast%202006%20catalog.pdf

[wolfador]

I like to use the Velcro cable ties instead of zipties. As you can easily remove / reuse them instead of having to cut all the zipties when you need to replace a pump or something.

http://www.buycableties.com/6velcrobrandcableties.aspx

You can also use wrap around braided sleeving for an even cleaner look. http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/WrapAroundSleeving.php

[mr9iron]

Wow, thanks for the responses. Do any of you who have replied have any picture of your setup handy? I really like the idea of the braided sleeve, that may work well for me.

[tebstan]

That braided sleeve is pretty cool. It just kind of grips to itself?

I used this stuff on my computer and my pico:
http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/media/wire_loom_big.jpg
It's wire loom, a ribbed plastic tube that's split down the side to slip cords in

Great for the computer - but the salt creep on the pico is a pain to clean up. Do any of you who are using various velcro contraptions have that problem with salt creep?

[mr9iron]

I hate salt creep.

[shaggss]

here ya go.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab240/shaggss/04fe9ae8.jpg

you can see the plastic channelling on the wall behind the sump. it is great for wire management. the front cover just sides off and there are teeth along the side you can break off for the wires to enter the channel.

[tebstan]

Nice!

[seapug]

I tried to start a thread regarding this topic, but it died off quickly. I'd be interested to see if more people chime in on this one.
Because nobody has yet been able to achieve the dream of having every electrical cord the exact length needed and every bit of excess length neatly coiled and strapped to keep it completely tidy and still allow unfettered access to every plug. :headwalls:

Except for shaggs, perhaps....:)

[6Speed]

one problem I've had is the cords tend to be somewhat stiff and retain memory from when they were coiled up with twist ties around them when new. this makes it hard to make a visually appealing circular coil.

[ingtar_shinowa]

Shaggs has a beautiful sump!

[mr9iron]

here ya go.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab240/shaggss/04fe9ae8.jpg

you can see the plastic channelling on the wall behind the sump. it is great for wire management. the front cover just sides off and there are teeth along the side you can break off for the wires to enter the channel.

Thanks, that looks great.:inlove: