mounting the controller and cleaning up the wire mess
- Thread starter jimsflies
- Start date
jimsflies
Member
Would something like this work with the AC-III?
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=842540
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=842540
I bought all of my AC III mounting supplies from Home Depot.
AC III
1. Super Velcro - its called just that and HD has a large selection to choose from. I went with the 1" wide heavy duty.
Wires
1. Black, Split Flexible Conduit - HD stocks it in their electrical dept. comes in 2 sizes - buy the larger diameter (1") its easier to work with.
2. Mounting pads - again comes in many sizes. It looks like a 1/2" x 1/2" plastic square with a raised hole in the middle. Them come in all differant colors. It has an adhesive back that you stick to a surface. Then you string a plastic tie through the hole and use it to securely fasten the conduit to whatever you want.
3. Plastic ties - can't live without them.
I mounted the AC on the outside of my tank's lighting hood. Its on the side of the tank (not the front) at eye level so: 1. I can easily see it every time I walk past the tank, 2. easily program/reprogram the unit without having to crawl under the tank stand or lie on the floor; 3. its out of harms way (water, vaccum cleaners,etc) and ; 4. out of reach of my two lovely but very inquisitive kids who love playing with computers.
I'd post a pic if I could figure out how to on this boards. More than happen to email one to you if you;d like.
Keith
AC III
1. Super Velcro - its called just that and HD has a large selection to choose from. I went with the 1" wide heavy duty.
Wires
1. Black, Split Flexible Conduit - HD stocks it in their electrical dept. comes in 2 sizes - buy the larger diameter (1") its easier to work with.
2. Mounting pads - again comes in many sizes. It looks like a 1/2" x 1/2" plastic square with a raised hole in the middle. Them come in all differant colors. It has an adhesive back that you stick to a surface. Then you string a plastic tie through the hole and use it to securely fasten the conduit to whatever you want.
3. Plastic ties - can't live without them.
I mounted the AC on the outside of my tank's lighting hood. Its on the side of the tank (not the front) at eye level so: 1. I can easily see it every time I walk past the tank, 2. easily program/reprogram the unit without having to crawl under the tank stand or lie on the floor; 3. its out of harms way (water, vaccum cleaners,etc) and ; 4. out of reach of my two lovely but very inquisitive kids who love playing with computers.
I'd post a pic if I could figure out how to on this boards. More than happen to email one to you if you;d like.
Keith
bradleyj
Reefkeeping Mag Staff
I just hooked up my AcIII today. I used this same gadget as decribed above and it works great. I used industrial strength velcro on the back. I still have to clean up the wireing next.
I used the same mounting bracket for my reefkeeper2 also ,a few months back. Its on my 65g reef.
I figured I better go all out and get the cadillac of controllers for my 225.
jimsflies
Member
Thanks to everyone for the input. I spent some time tonight tidying the wire mess (see pictures above). Here's what I ended up with. This turned out totally different than I anticipated. I have been working on a cabinet to mount the controller and equipment in for the past couple weeks. I started mounting the DC-8's in the cabinet and realized that the wires going to the pumps, lights, etc. weren't going to be long enough to stretch.
Here is the cabinet....which was going to have a 24 nano cube on it and the controls underneath. Oh yeah, I cracked the nano cube so that is no longer in the plan. Might be selling this...not sure yet.
Here is the final product:
I used these zip tie mounting posts instead of velcro. Although, I think velcro would be as good or better:
Ended up mounting the DC-8s behind the tank on the ledge that runs the length of the room...out of sight out of mind:
To help keeping track of what wires go to the various pieces of equipment, in case I need to pull a pump or whatever, I bought every color of zip tie that I could find and color coded each wire. I put zip ties of the same color on each end of every piece of equipment and sometimes one or two along the wire as well (you can see them on the wires plugged into the dc-8s above):
So, now I can easily see what the tank parameters are when I am looking at the tank. (Note that pH seems to be running low and need to do more research regarding ORP, even though the controller is managing heat, tank temp is still high when the ac isn't on....why do I see more equipment in my future
.)
For kicks, here's a full shot of my tank with actinics on:
Here is the cabinet....which was going to have a 24 nano cube on it and the controls underneath. Oh yeah, I cracked the nano cube so that is no longer in the plan. Might be selling this...not sure yet.
Here is the final product:
I used these zip tie mounting posts instead of velcro. Although, I think velcro would be as good or better:
Ended up mounting the DC-8s behind the tank on the ledge that runs the length of the room...out of sight out of mind:
To help keeping track of what wires go to the various pieces of equipment, in case I need to pull a pump or whatever, I bought every color of zip tie that I could find and color coded each wire. I put zip ties of the same color on each end of every piece of equipment and sometimes one or two along the wire as well (you can see them on the wires plugged into the dc-8s above):
So, now I can easily see what the tank parameters are when I am looking at the tank. (Note that pH seems to be running low and need to do more research regarding ORP, even though the controller is managing heat, tank temp is still high when the ac isn't on....why do I see more equipment in my future
.)
For kicks, here's a full shot of my tank with actinics on:
bradleyj
Reefkeeping Mag Staff
A friend of mine that owns a LFS used it to mount his RK2 on a nano display. I thought it was a great idea also. From your signature it looks like you are where I was six months ago. My 65g tank is packed and I wanted a larger tank also. I finally talked my wife into a larger system and now I'm in the process of setting it up. I'm going to keep both though, one upstairs and one down.
This is my 65g upstairs, just 3 years old now.
I needed a larger tank for my tangs since they have tripled in size, so my new system is 225 gallons.
I will be able to transfer over my larger fish to their new home sometime in september.
This is my 65g upstairs, just 3 years old now.
I needed a larger tank for my tangs since they have tripled in size, so my new system is 225 gallons.
I will be able to transfer over my larger fish to their new home sometime in september.
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