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

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

  • Yes and very OCD about it

    Votes: 178 23.1%
  • Yes but not OCD about it

    Votes: 450 58.3%
  • Meh I don't care too much

    Votes: 105 13.6%
  • I do not care at all

    Votes: 26 3.4%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 13 1.7%

  • Total voters
    772

Bruce Burnett

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If I can pull the piece of equipment easily then don't care what it looks like in the cabinet. Around the tank is a different story. If I can hide all cables from view the better.
 

FLSharkvictim

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Far from done but this is how mine is starting to turn out!
2 Controller Panels.jpeg


My 50 gallon Mixing Station that will be all connected to my SCA 150 rimless:
50 gallon station.jpeg
 

Terr-c

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Wellll I thought mine was organized until I saw some of these!!! I wish I had room to be that organized! :eek:;Joyful
 

Kuub

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I wouldn't say OCD, but I am also starting from new and learning from mistakes in past. Still trying to balance all under tank with ease of access too. We will see how time passes with additions. Still have to figure out how to put DOS and others under here.

Component Cluster.jpg

60643964683__DA5AA611-6A22-4FE7-A9BA-F37D6C6F0F56 (1).JPG
 

Lorenzo Angotti

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Hi, yes to certain extent your wires need to look tidy but also accessible to replace or just to disconnect as required. A lot of people use zip ties I use velcro tape that comes on a roll so you can wrap it around your cables and easily take it off when needed.
 

Icedog

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Hi, yes to certain extent your wires need to look tidy but also accessible to replace or just to disconnect as required. A lot of people use zip ties I use velcro tape that comes on a roll so you can wrap it around your cables and easily take it off when needed.
Great idea - love that velcro tape!
 

kylarse

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Mine is mostly a mess, but I'd love to see the backside of some of these organized cabinets, and know how you deal with pulling a piece of equipment out to do an exchange or maintenance. How are people organizing power blocks on the back of a cabinet, and how do you keep the tangle from just being between your cabinet and tank, instead of right at the controller?
 

Kuub

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Mine is mostly a mess, but I'd love to see the backside of some of these organized cabinets, and know how you deal with pulling a piece of equipment out to do an exchange or maintenance. How are people organizing power blocks on the back of a cabinet, and how do you keep the tangle from just being between your cabinet and tank, instead of right at the controller?

I don't have a picture of the back. But I use double sided Heavy Duty Velcro tape to put the power bricks around outside of box I built above. The other loose cords attached to those I use velcro tape to bind cables. I left enough loose to be able to pull front panel of box off and access if needed.
 

SuncrestReef

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One of my biggest headaches is when I need to swap a piece of equipment, but running the wires through small openings between my sump cabinet and the equipment cabinet is very difficult.

To get around this, I’ve started using a string tied to the end of the cable, pulling out the old device which feeds the string though the opening, then I can tie the string to the replacement device’s cable to easily route it back through the opening. Saves so much time and hassle!

CF84D993-9C56-459C-93A8-3340C2E6AFBD.jpeg


494DC51D-64D8-44B8-8E65-3FFA5E0FB6EC.jpeg


41554494-E168-4A17-9275-72D4CC02B49B.jpeg
 

mcshams

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When I built my first aquarium, I managed the cables so well, and it was so neat...awesome to look at. Then I had to get the protein skimmer out for a thorough cleaning/maintenance and realized that I had not thought that far ahead. I had "grouped" far too many cords into bundles, and it took 1 hour to undo everything just to get it out. I even have every cord waterproof color-coded tagged, so finding the cord was easy, but freeing the machine was not. So, my cord management blends functional tear-down with neat management, which is to say not quite as pretty to look at, but still neat.
 

jaxteller007

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I did manage to create a spreadsheet calculating the approximate GPH for each power setting on my wave makers. Not exactly cord management, but hey it gave me something to do lol.
 

TheWB

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I have an AIO tank. I wanted to keep the wires somewhat organized but still able remove a piece of equipment easily. I found some wire management discs meant for desktop cable management at Home Depot and used them all over the back of my tank to create separate paths for most of the wires. The wires stay secure but they can just be pulled through the opening when needed.
5FB26625-DA75-4479-8DBA-9507D3D9501F.jpeg
B1532384-C85B-4705-8FF7-06B41B682EFC.jpeg

Its not visually very attractive but it’s functional.
 

CindyKz

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I don't care how it looks, but I absolutely need it safe and everything labelled. One thing that does make me crazy is having electrical outlets UNDER the tank. My 180 gal is in the wall with the sump behind, and all outlet and equipment is mounted above the sump. It doesn't look pretty, but I can see what goes where and access it all easily.
20200330_195239.jpg


My husband and I did this for our Biocube over the weekend. It's a big improvement over the mess we had, but being right on the living room wall it's pretty ugly. I would like to find a cabinet that I could mount on the wall to hide it in.

20200329_165141.jpg 20200329_165217.jpg
 
Last edited:

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 70 53.0%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 68 51.5%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 34 25.8%
  • None.

    Votes: 29 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.8%
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