Jager January 10, 2007 Share January 10, 2007 so i am tired of the look of a bunch of cords and crap under my tank, and with only gang boxes near the tank (4 outlets) its down to power strips etc. however i want to clean everything up in a subpanel of sorts. rather than run a new circuit off the main house power and such, i want to wire up 15 outlets to a panel under the tank, and then power them using the closest outlet. so sorta like a mega sized powerstrip, but all GFCI and some with switches for feeding dosing etc. here is my question stuck between patching into the wiring behind the outlet of choice and direct connecting to the house, which while not as neat looking is just bypassing the wall outlets entirely, or can i get away with wiring the subpanel to two plugs and hook them into the outlets so if i move the tank i can unplug the power without havign to deal with cutting out half the basement to cut wiring. the outlet box in question already handles all the power needs for the tank as it is, just using powerstrips and such so im not worried about overloading the circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 January 10, 2007 Share January 10, 2007 Only need one GFCI in the series, the first one, everything after is then protected. I took it a step further and hardwired my dc8 and dc4 into the panel and thelit rocker switches act as quick manual overides as well as controlling 8 functions not on the aquacontroller. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRehman January 10, 2007 Share January 10, 2007 Just a thought since I am not sure of your placement, but it might be safer to put an electrical panel next to the tank rather than under to avoid water related shorts. An option for the multiple wires might be to get a DJ 8 channel controller (8 separate switches for each plug)and connect that to a GFI outlet (taking into account the max load). These are pretty inexpensive and neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager January 10, 2007 Author Share January 10, 2007 (edited) dandy i was actually doing sometihng exactly like that, but no Aquacontroller hookups (im not that rich yet :P ) did you hardware that box into the house system or have it plug in at some point? id prefer to have it plug in as i said above, but idk how feasible that is and whether i should bother. guess ill go bug my father the ex construction engineer / renovator see what he thinks is feasible as well. Edited January 10, 2007 by Jager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 January 10, 2007 Share January 10, 2007 The whole box is a seperate. The top dj panel has the GFCI at the end as well as the bottom, this is wired to a cord and plug that go to seperate 20 amp circuits. The top row is aquacontroller and the bottom is not. There are life support on both circuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager January 11, 2007 Author Share January 11, 2007 NR i somehow missed your post, but ive been looking into just that, problem is im working on x10 controllig the pumps etc so i can eventually plug it all into a reef controller, if that doesnt work out like i want it to, i already have the dj strips in a shopping cart online just gotta hit send :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRehman January 11, 2007 Share January 11, 2007 I've "heard" spotty realiability reports on x10 technology. Have you been able to check the reliability out? I was thinking about doing the same, but am leaning towards a hardwired setup. Does anyone have any input on x10 reliability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 January 11, 2007 Share January 11, 2007 They sell the strips at Guitar Center local. Same price no shipping, many locations. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL January 18, 2007 Share January 18, 2007 Dang, you gotta do DIY manual on how to make one! It might seems simple but wiring certainly need some guidance and how it works with aquacontroller- I've never owned or evaluate one yet. I'm planning on doing one soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager January 18, 2007 Author Share January 18, 2007 NR sorry again for missing this, x10 is hit or miss, sometimes stuff lasts sometimes it doesnt. most of my x10 stuff has died after 3-4 years use. usually its the wall controlling units relay giving out but when that happens the relay sticks to on in all my cases. so the way im hooking things up thats not a bad thing because my lights not turning off on schedule alerts me, the feed timing system not turning off pumps does again etc. im not hooking up anything that can fail and create a flood. but all my x10 units were not the newest stuff either it was older tech, even AQ3 and RK@ if i understand the reviews correctly communicate or can using x10 modules. so its relaible enough for me to use for my particular situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRehman January 18, 2007 Share January 18, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS January 18, 2007 Share January 18, 2007 I've "heard" spotty realiability reports on x10 technology. Have you been able to check the reliability out? I was thinking about doing the same, but am leaning towards a hardwired setup. Does anyone have any input on x10 reliability? I've used it over the years for home automation and tank stuff. No real way to put it nicely, X-10 is crap. It's a garbage specification & it's utterly unreliable. Neptune dumped it why? Because it's more trouble than it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 19, 2007 Share January 19, 2007 I want one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager January 19, 2007 Author Share January 19, 2007 erik i believe that was probably very nicely put. the only reason im considering it is the poor mans tank controller setup, and that it wont be controlling anything lifesaving or flood control wise. i can see the same face youd make mentioning x10 being about the same as the skimrate nose LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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