Aquatic command center: Do you use a controller board?

[Peace River]

Aquatic command center: Do you use a controller board?

Organizing all the wiring and control stuff that supports your reef ecosystem can be a significant undertaking. Whether it is for a controller that controls everything or several equipment specific controllers as well as all the power bricks and power strips that are often part of a reef tank system, all these items can be neatly organized or crammed into a vacant space. One of the prizes in the R2R Membership Drive 24K is an Adaptive Reef controller board which got me thinking about how most people mount their controllers and related gear. Please tell us if you use a controller board and share any pictures, tips, or important considerations. Oh, and good luck if you choose to sign up for the membership drive!

Photo by @reefkeeping

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com

“Dinkins Aquatic Gardens specializes in producing top-quality copepods, phytoplankton, amphipods, and berghia nudibranchs. We are a small husband-and-wife company that intensely focuses on customer service. We'd love to have you experience the Dinkins Difference!"

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

I had the rat's nest for a couple years. I made my own boards from shelving from the hardware store. Definitely better for safety and organization. But a pain to change out things.

 

[merkmerk73]

My rats nest required so much work that I just don't have any emotional bandwidth to take on a controller - let alone a controller board

I caught myself lusting for this setup yesterday and slapped my own hand and closed the browser.

 

[shakacuz]

i still have to work on my cable management, but i have the adaptive reef board. may get the smaller version down the line

 

[Rp8]

I have minimized my wiring and tucked them as out of sight as I can

 

[n2585722]

Here is my controller board in my garage. It is mounted to the wall behind my work bench, My three reservoirs are brute cans that are under the workbench. My RODI unit is mounted on the wall on the right side but out of the photo.

 

[bmr]

I am in the process of building my control rack and it is a total mess at the moment. Tank has not even completed its cycle but the project is in process and getting more organized by the day.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

I repurposed an old Stereo cabinet and turned it into a control cabinet

You can see the whole process in our build thread here

Cube Build - 134-Gallon Cube Build - Random Flow Generator® Powered Mixed Reef - Lots of Pics!

Got the closed loop stand pipes lifted a bit. had to bring the RFG nozzles up a few inches due to coral growth. Coral naturally want to grow into the flow - especially the kind of flow these Random Flow Generators are creating. They seem to love the strong, intermittent broad flow and are...

www.reef2reef.com

This is was the result:

 

[jtichenor]

 

[lubeck]

For my Biocube

 

[CWalters]

Not too much added yet, didn’t like how far hydros stuck out so I cut out holes for them.

*still have a bit to do to it*

 

[OctaviusBrine]

Started with it under the cabinet but quickly outgrew it. I’m almost done with the new one we will see how long till I outgrow this one lol.

 

[rizon25]

I use 2 networking server cabinets to house my apex and Red Sea equipment up front while keeping my ato tank, chiller, dosing containers, and trident waste container in the rear behind the electrical equipment. It has fans up on top which turn on when the chiller kicks on to exhaust all the hot air to outside of the cabinet. I prefer all the equipment outside of the sump cabinet to keep the tank cooler. The chiller hardly turns on. Only when it’s a really hot day and I live in SoCal. My temp averages around 78-79.

 

[Opus]

No controller on my tanks so just a bunch of wires on the carpet going to power strips.

 

[tsharpe291]

No pre made board for me, I don’t think any of them really offer much room for expansion.

 

[Dburr1014]

I piece of stained wood in the basement and some labels, all in the basement.
Is amazing that the wav pump wires are long enough to reach the tank upstairs.

 

[slowwrx137]

I just made a DIY box when I setup my tank last year to hide the wires and mount everything. I'll probably re-do it at some point since adding the second EB8 recently.

 

[shwareefer]

Mine is a controller door. Still a mess.

 

[Rovert]

Where did you get those flat extension cords?

For my Biocube