edandsandy
Active member
AWESOME! Thanks Tom!
Building My 375gal Glass Reef
- Thread starter GlassReef
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reefrubble
Premium Member
Tom , Do you have anything new to tell us ? Do you have any more tips to give us , or pics to share ?
Ted
Ted
Thanks for all the compliments, everyone. 
Well, over the weekend I managed to get a little done on the electrical side. I installed three receptacle boxes, under the tank, each with 4 outlets. The trick was, I need both normal power access and, in addition, controlled power access - that being power points which can be controlled by my AC-III Pro. I wanted 6 non-controlled outlets and 6 controlled, so I decided to see if I could combine them into one installation. I decided to run 7 complete lines (hot, common, ground) and use 1 for the non-controlled and each of the remaining 6 for a controlled outlet.
I like things to be as neat as possible (has something to do with being a pedant
) so I went to the local Big Box and bought some white PVC baseboard 5 1/2 inches wide and 8 feet long. I placed the three outlet boxes on the board and used 1 inch PVC conduit to connect them. Came out looking like this:
Left side ...
The box on the left has 4 non-controlled outlets - that's the reason there are no labels to be seen.
Right side ...
For the non-controlled outlets, it was just a matter of wiring the 6 outlets directly to the common non-controlled circuit. Each of the 6 controlled outlets had to be wired separately - one to each outlet. That looked like this:
Above, you can see controlled outlets for the sump return pump, the fuge/frag return pump, one misc. controlled outlet, and one non-controlled outlet.
The next pic shows controlled outlets for both skimmers and the ozone generator, in addition to one non-controlled outlet. The receptacles are different colors because Home Depot decided to stop stocking brown ones.
Well, over the weekend I managed to get a little done on the electrical side. I installed three receptacle boxes, under the tank, each with 4 outlets. The trick was, I need both normal power access and, in addition, controlled power access - that being power points which can be controlled by my AC-III Pro. I wanted 6 non-controlled outlets and 6 controlled, so I decided to see if I could combine them into one installation. I decided to run 7 complete lines (hot, common, ground) and use 1 for the non-controlled and each of the remaining 6 for a controlled outlet.
I like things to be as neat as possible (has something to do with being a pedant
) so I went to the local Big Box and bought some white PVC baseboard 5 1/2 inches wide and 8 feet long. I placed the three outlet boxes on the board and used 1 inch PVC conduit to connect them. Came out looking like this:Left side ...
The box on the left has 4 non-controlled outlets - that's the reason there are no labels to be seen.
Right side ...
For the non-controlled outlets, it was just a matter of wiring the 6 outlets directly to the common non-controlled circuit. Each of the 6 controlled outlets had to be wired separately - one to each outlet. That looked like this:
Above, you can see controlled outlets for the sump return pump, the fuge/frag return pump, one misc. controlled outlet, and one non-controlled outlet.
The next pic shows controlled outlets for both skimmers and the ozone generator, in addition to one non-controlled outlet. The receptacles are different colors because Home Depot decided to stop stocking brown ones.
Here's a pic of the lines going up to the main power distribution center. It's just 1" PVC conduit:
At the end of the lines, I added normal 120V electrical plugs so that each of the lines could be plugged into either a normal power receptacle (the the non-controlled outlets) or the AC-III's DC-8 power control module.
I placed the connections inside a normal junction/outlet box:
The DC-8 (and the plugs themselves) has labels attached which correspond to the labels found on the outlets.
All in all, the whole thing worked out pretty well. I'm pleased with it. Whether it proves itself in everyday use, we will soon find out.
At the end of the lines, I added normal 120V electrical plugs so that each of the lines could be plugged into either a normal power receptacle (the the non-controlled outlets) or the AC-III's DC-8 power control module.
I placed the connections inside a normal junction/outlet box:
The DC-8 (and the plugs themselves) has labels attached which correspond to the labels found on the outlets.
All in all, the whole thing worked out pretty well. I'm pleased with it. Whether it proves itself in everyday use, we will soon find out.
Last edited:
EnglishRebel
Retired Rebel Reefer
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13716784#post13716784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GlassReef
Thanks Elliot!
My secret is - I have absolutely nothing else to do ...
Me too
I'm working on my equipment room in the basement at the moment, under where my DT will go. I will be running all my electrical in PVC like yours. I hope mine turns out as neat as yours. Great job.
edandsandy
Active member
Very nice Tom, I love the attention to all the detail you have done.
You are an inspiration to us all.
You are an inspiration to us all.
I may have missed it somewhere reading through this thread, so sorry in advance. Is the 1.5" sanitary tee really important or can you use a standard 1.5" tee?
The reason I ask is that I would like to integrate the same type of system on my tank only utilizing 1" piping all the way to the sump and I do not think they make a 1" sanitary tee.
Thanks in Advance!
Brandon
The reason I ask is that I would like to integrate the same type of system on my tank only utilizing 1" piping all the way to the sump and I do not think they make a 1" sanitary tee.
Thanks in Advance!
Brandon
reefrubble
Premium Member
This is like the Worlds Fair , It keeps getting better , and better .
Ted
Ted
EnglishRebel
Retired Rebel Reefer
Doesn't a sanitary tee have a "sweep" where the center connections joins as opposed to a regular tee where it's square? Does that make sense?
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