Too Many Plugs

[Cherie]

I have a few tanks with fewer places to put them. My problem is with all the plugs. I wanted to use power strips but the package said not recommended for aquariums. Is this because aquarium equipment uses power diferently or because of the possible water and electricity disaster?

Thanks for the help in advance,

Cherie

 

[phoenix]

I use powerstrips for my tanks, I would hazard to guess the reason it says not for aquariums is a liability issue stemming from water and electricity not mixing well, as you guessed.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Every tank I have is on a power bar.

 

[Alien_spawn]

I use power strips for my tanks also

 

[Lateral Line]

Ditto - power bars all over the place here.

Try to arrange it that the power bar is not likely to get splashed, and is above the lowest point on the wires leading from it to tank stuff. What I'm trying to describe is that if some water inadvertantly runs down the wire, it will reach the lowest point and drip off there as the power bar is slightly higher - I hope that's clear!

I drew a picture...

 

[Adrinal]

O la la Piccaso has been reborn!!!

 

[babyfish]

I use power strips, mine are on top of my tank or fixed onto the back of the tank hood

 

[freshmike]

Also, every tank I own is on a power bar....never had a problem with it

 

[Doggfather]

yep, power bars for me too

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Cherie

I can't imagine how anyone can have more than one aquarium without using a power strip unless they are in different parts of the room. Each tank has at least one plug for a light, a heater and a filter. If you have a stand with two tanks on it, that means you will need at least 6 outlets.

Perhaps the no aquarium use statement you speak of is for that particular brand of power strip. When you go to the store, see what the others say.

 

[rotherhamutd]

I couldn't manage without power bars. Has anyone had any better idea's though, switched boxes or distribution systems ?

I now have 3 or 4 powebars chained together and I would love to have a tidier system that allows me to switch individual devices without constantly unplugging things. (My filter sucks all the food to the sump if not turned off)

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

you can do this with all your electrical connections this will cut down on space and power every thing

Just cut the plugs off and wire it up.

 

[rotherhamutd]

That's kind of what I've been thinking.

What would you store it in though ? It's a living room not a fish room. I would also like a bank of switches on there to allow individual item control.

I could build something custom but figured there is probably an industrial solution somewhere that may be cheaper than the sum of parts on a homemade one ?

 

[Bol]

There probably is a "premade" solution, and if you found one that met your needs, it would almost certainly be cheaper than building it yourself.

But, it would most likely come in a really bulky form (since it seems you're looking for ~15 feeds, each with a switch). You'd basically have a breaker box mounted on your wall.

Not to mention that chances are pretty much everything you'd connect to it comes with a standard (probably 6') power cord. A central distribution box would probably mean a lot of splicing, at the least.

Probably not an optimal solution for a living room, in my opinion.

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

what you need to do is to find a sparky and ask hime for a solution as they have tones of stuff laying in the back shed.

this wouldnt be that big. just tricky. you could make it in a small palstic box that you sould attach to the wall.

oh ya what are the 15 connections? and how many watts is each thing as 15 connections you most likely will need two seperate rings.