aabaltz

so the plan is after i build my stand but before i set up tanks on it to get an electrical box capable of housing either 3 or 4 outlets wiring them all together and installing it all inside the standand then having male elec. cord end coming out of the box so that i can just have one extension cord going to the outlet. do i need to use gfi outlets for just one of the outlets / all of them? should I install a light switch in there to shut power on / off for tank matinence? anything else i might need? thanks in advance

Tavel

just use a power strip, haha.

you probably don't even need a GFI switch, but if you wan the security, perhaps it would be cheapest to replace the outlet in the wall with a single GFI outlet, instead of buying 4...aren't they like $10-$15 each?

aabaltz

ok, so would be better to just put the gfi in the wall if at all...regular outlets to make this project would be free to me, cause a friend of mine just had to change all the outlets in his house because wife wanted diff color, they all still work great, and fish dont care what color the outlets are, so all id really have to buy would be the box and a cover and to find a little bit of wire to wire it up.....guess the switch really wouldnt be neccesary either. making stuff is fun anyway.

navyscuba

IMO I put a high grade Power Strip inside the cabinet and just the end coming out.

dvc_r

I have an older house that doesn't have GFI so I went to the local hardware store and picked one in. It plugs into the two existing plugs and has six outlets I can use. I also have the dual timers for my lights. One thing you may want to think about, after hundreds of water changes, I found it easier to plug my filters and heaters on a switch together. This way it's easy to reach and my filter doesn't loose it's siphon and I don't have to worry about damaging or cracking the heater. I used to crawl under each fishtank and try to out the correct plugs.

navyscuba

Yeap. I hate that. One of my lights that I got with one of the tanks don't have a switch so you gotta unplugged every night. I can't find a switch for it yet. Gotta go to the HD to get it. Lazzy me. hahaha.

ray_sj

Some of the plug-in (non-permanently installed) type GFCIs will NOT reset in case of a power failure. This is because these are often used on work sites, and is meant to be a safety feature. This means your filters, etc. will not restart after a power loss.

I use a power strip which plugs into a GFCI outlet I installed. Especially in older homes, you have to make sure that the junction box has enough space to accomodate the GFCI. The GFCIs take up more volume than the normal outlets.

aabaltz

basically what i want to do is install a newly purchased box big enough to house 3-4 outlets into the stand ( making my own power strip) possibly this all through a switch just inside the door of the stand. i think it will be easier for me to keep everything organized inside that stand this way. ( im kinda anal and would be labeling all the cords and zip tying all of them neatly under there.) As i posted above, i have all the outlets already that i got for free from a friend, so all that i would really need to buy for this setup would be the plastic junction box ( like a dollar or two) and my dad has all kinda electrical wire in his shed ( hes kinda a packrat) and maybe the household light switch ( another two bucks) so i think im goona do it this week. ill post picks when its completed

DPmom26

Am lazy myself I just have a good power strip on mine and hooked everything to it, makes clean up time a lot easier that way