Mounting Ideas

[Reef1121]

Does anyone out there have a nice way that they mounted their apex? Maybe in its own custom cabinet or with nice cable management? Just looking for ideas right now, not necesarily pulling the trigger quiet yet. But it is a future thing on my never ending to-do list.

[L8ndeb]

Have mine mounted in a closet directly behind the DT. Ran all cabling and tubing through the wall. Used this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-StarTech-com-2x2in-Open-Slot-Wiring-Cable-Raceway-Duct-with-Cover-/380597365990?pt=US_Drive_Cables_dapters&hash=item589d5eece6

to organize the wiring. Mounting it in a place other than the aquarium cabinet prevents corrosion from saltwater and saltwater humidity.

[chriscobb]

There's actually another thread similar where guys showed how they mounted there's, you could check through the Neptune section for the thread.

[Reef1121]

Sweet. Thanks for the tip. Will def go and look

[drummereef]

Here's how I organized my wiring mess. All cables are sleeved using TechFlex Sleeving and the excess is hidden behind the wall of my sump room.


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-15.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-19.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-14.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-17.jpg:original

[Reef1121]

I love it, its so clean. Wish I had my own house to drill the walls. Was thinking of doing like a custom made cabinet. But the same looks as what you did.

[drummereef]

I love it, its so clean. Wish I had my own house to drill the walls. Was thinking of doing like a custom made cabinet. But the same looks as what you did.

Thanks Reef1121. :)

[madean]

drummereef- what was your intention for using the techflex sleeve on the cords? It look like you cut the ends off of the plugs to your components or did you extend the wiring of the components? I did a quick search on these sleeves- and there are several types. I am just trying to understand the reasoning here and see if its worth applying to my build.

[drummereef]

drummereef- what was your intention for using the techflex sleeve on the cords? It look like you cut the ends off of the plugs to your components or did you extend the wiring of the components? I did a quick search on these sleeves- and there are several types. I am just trying to understand the reasoning here and see if its worth applying to my build.

The sleeving is part of my conduit that basically acts as more permanent "extension cord" for my devices. I have my EB8's mounted up high on the wall, away from my tank, so I needed a way to get power to my devices without running traditional extension cords. The conduit runs around the room and supplies power to a few outlets I've installed. The sleeving is just a slick way of covering the THHN wire coming from each outlet on the conduit run. The only device wires I cut were the plug ends from my Galaxy ballasts. Those are custom length cables anyway, the way I have them wired, so it just makes for a cleaner installation. Hope this helps. :)

[madean]

So you basically have 3 #12 (or so sized) thhn wires extending out your plugs with the sleeve wrapped around to hide the individual wires. I understand not all of the components are ground so only 2 conductors are needed. But the idea is to hide the multiple wires per component. Ok I get it now. And your right it is a nice clean way for your application. Without it, it would be a wire nest. 16 x 2 or 3 wires is a lot of wire and would look ugly. Good job.

[drummereef]

So you basically have 3 #12 (or so sized) thhn wires extending out your plugs with the sleeve wrapped around to hide the individual wires. I understand not all of the components are ground so only 2 conductors are needed. But the idea is to hide the multiple wires per component. Ok I get it now. And your right it is a nice clean way for your application. Without it, it would be a wire nest. 16 x 2 or 3 wires is a lot of wire and would look ugly. Good job.

Correct, all the plugs are wired hot/neutral/ground just like a normal extension cord - all 14 AWG THHN stranded for running in conduit. From the receptacles, the conduit runs around the wall and terminates at the junction box you can see in the last pic where my Apex display is mounted. So all the exposed wires that come out of the junction box are sleeved, both for aesthetics and for cable management. Then they just plug into my EB8's. The junction box is nothing more than a transition point, there are no wire connections inside the box. It was just a way to terminate the conduit, to transition into exposed wires, so I could route the external wiring in the cleanest most organized way possible (that I knew of...). ;)

[Twin Reefs]

Here's how I organized my wiring mess. All cables are sleeved using TechFlex Sleeving and the excess is hidden behind the wall of my sump room.


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-15.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-19.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-14.jpg:original


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/drummereef/180g%20Reef%20Tank%202/WireManagementFinished-17.jpg:original

WOW....How nice is this!! Amazing work and such a clean job. Thanks for sharing.

[drummereef]

WOW....How nice is this!! Amazing work and such a clean job. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Twin Reefs, appreciate the kind words. :)

[Bellaaliyah]

What is the name of those covers on your plugs? I can't find them and I like how clean they look. Thanks

[drummereef]

What is the name of those covers on your plugs? I can't find them and I like how clean they look. Thanks
What covers are you specifically referring to Bellaaliyah? Thanks

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[BZOFIQ]

That is just absolutely stunning, do you have any more drool worthy pictures? My brain is full of ideas but still unsure how I can apply your concept to a small (7ft long) in stand application. I'm thinking a distributed power-bus along the top of the stand for devices to plug into.

Cleanest install I have seen to date; will have to imitate some of it, hope you're ok with it.

[Tigé21v]

I love it, its so clean. Wish I had my own house to drill the walls. Was thinking of doing like a custom made cabinet. But the same looks as what you did.

Here's what someone local did. Looks very nice.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24965440&postcount=1472

[Stolireef]

When you use conduits how do you disconnect things for maintenance such as pumps and probes?

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[neilp2006]

When you use conduits how do you disconnect things for maintenance such as pumps and probes?

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The wires you see coming out of the eb8 and into the conduit terminate at a receptical box, into which he plugs in his devices. The conduit is essentially housing 8 custom extension cords that the devices are then plugged into.

To remove a pump for cleaning, he simply unplug it from the receptical it is plugged into, like you normally would. When he replaced it, he makes sure he puts it into the same aocket, so that the programming etc still matches

[PhishyRupert]

Ultimate OCD for apex cord management. Love it seeing as how I to am a victim of OCD

[pwfletcher]

Basic, but efficient ...

https://content.invisioncic.com/Mnanoreef/monthly_2018_01/aquarium.jpg.bec086afd4c6e910704821464bdad478.jpg