Managing Monday: Let's talk cable/cord management!

revhtree · Mar 30, 2020

With more people being at home more than normal I'm sure we're all checking things off the aquarium to do list! One thing I'm not the greatest at and something I have been putting off is making the cables and cords from my reef tank look better. Some people don't really care how it looks and some people want it as tidy as possible! Let's talk about that today!

1. Are you someone who cares what the cords and cables look like around your reef tank?

2. Do you have any useful cord managing tips for those of us who are not that great? Maybe share some product links to help us?

BONUS: SHARE a photo of your cable management so we can be inspired! :)

@Steve1310 has done a very nice job!

Crabs McJones · Mar 30, 2020

Cord management is my #1. Cords everywhere and disorganized drives me insane! When you need to unhook something you have to untangle a bunch of wires. It's almost as bad as taking your headphones out of your pocket!
I use a combination of zip ties and mounts to run my wires where they need to go. But make sure to get the re-usable zip ties if you ever need to remove a piece of equipment or replace. THey have a little tab you can press to unzip them. Work great and saves on having to replace zip ties all the time :)

pelphrey · Mar 30, 2020

The more organized it is the more painful it is to pull equipment out. This is why I have an equipment cabinet that stays closed. I tried to manage it once, wasn't worth it for me.

george51349 · Mar 30, 2020

I am always upset with how mine look, but I have never tried to fix it.

revhtree · Mar 30, 2020

Crabs McJones said:
Cord management is my #1. Cords everywhere and disorganized drives me insane! When you need to unhook something you have to untangle a bunch of wires. It's almost as bad as taking your headphones out of your pocket!
I use a combination of zip ties and mounts to run my wires where they need to go. But make sure to get the re-usable zip ties if you ever need to remove a piece of equipment or replace. THey have a little tab you can press to unzip them. Work great and saves on having to replace zip ties all the time :)

pelphrey said:
The more organized it is the more painful it is to pull equipment out. This is why I have an equipment cabinet that stays closed. I tried to manage it once, wasn't worth it for me.

Photos please!

Crabs McJones · Mar 30, 2020

revhtree said:
Photos please!

....now you know I can't take photos, it no longer exists :D

Greybeard · Mar 30, 2020

Out where the tank is? Don't want any cables, if I can avoid it.

Can't avoid the light cables, or the flow pump cables, though I've hidden as much of them as I can.

Now... where the sump is? Another matter entirely

Yeah. It's a bit of a cable mess. But... I can find what I need, easily. And, when I want it nice and neat? Close the darned door! Hey, look, all neat and tidy!

SaltyCupcake · Mar 30, 2020

I care! But I fuss over so many things already that I feel like I would make myself bananas in pajamas if I messed with my wires too much.

They aren't awful, but there is definitely much room for improvement.

I have them plugged into a power strip that is mounted on the wall near my tank. But it's only got 3 spots... so I should really get a larger one because the rest of my doodads are plugged into a power strip on the ground beside my tank cabinet which makes me nervous every time I see it haha.

I'd post the picture of my other wires but it stresses me out to look at it so I won't put anyone else through that lol <3

Edit: Suddenly realizing how modest my set up is and feeling a bit self-conscious. I hope that my wires can look as cool as the other folks here someday! :)

Mical · Mar 30, 2020

I built a cabinet to for all my controls but I'm not OCD about cable routing because as mentioned if you have to change out a piece of gear it can be a nightmare. As a display it's clean, the cables and powerblocks & EB8s are hidden behind front control board. As long as I know which is which, I'm satisfied.

WVNed · Mar 30, 2020

Meh, every time I do it all up neat I have to take stuff apart to do something to it. I go for accessible, replaceable and identifiable. I don't bundle and route anymore. Nothing on the floor where water goes either.

Mhart032 · Mar 30, 2020

Im not crazy about it, and its by no means perfect, but i absolutely dont want to trace cables back to see where they go. here is the dry compartment to my Red Sea Reefer. The rest is in the closet behind the tank.

Hemmdog · Mar 30, 2020

My cable management couldn’t be described any way other than hazardous. ;Dead If I go missing for an extended period of time, you all will know what happened.o_O

lapin · Mar 30, 2020

As long as I dont trip and unplug anything while near the tank Im good with wire management. If I just look at rope or wire it becomes tangled.

Sweetpeaches · Mar 30, 2020

Zip ties, zip ties, zip ties...

Justgettingstarted · Mar 30, 2020

revhtree said:
With more people being at home more than normal I'm sure we're all checking things off the aquarium to do list! One thing I'm not the greatest at and something I have been putting off is making the cables and cords from my reef tank look better. Some people don't really care how it looks and some people want it as tidy as possible! Let's talk about that today!

1. Are you someone who cares what the cords and cables look like around your reef tank?

2. Do you have any useful cord managing tips for those of us who are not that great? Maybe share some product links to help us?

BONUS: SHARE a photo of your cable management so we can be inspired! :)

@Steve1310 has done a very nice job!

I wish my mess looked this good

Tom@HaslettMI · Mar 30, 2020

I like organization, but access and ability to make changes are also important. Cable runs are great for all three!

Tom

Barnabie Mejia · Mar 30, 2020

i built a cabinet for the system. I am dipping my toes into wood working and I like the way it came out. everything is run in raceways behind the sump and looks nice and neat. the trick is to run 2 sets of raceways that way when it comes time to remove/ maintenance it makes it easier to do. wall raceways for light management and I'm good to go.