Ph11p3540 Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I found these neat digital out door chrismas light timers at Home Depot last year for $24 bucks each. Since I often work very long hours I sometimes fail to control how long my lights are on. To fix this problem I have a timer for each light and CO2 silinoid valve. To keep the mess of timers and cords under control I made a simple board which the timers are screwed to. The timers only have one screw lug so they are further restrained by 1/4"dowels. The 3/4" thick plywood board measures 16" by 22" has one single power bar with 4 christmass light timers plugged in. This board can still have 4 additional timers or aquarium sensor units fastened to it. If you think this looks ugly I guess you could build this as a shallow cabinet. This set up is firmly screwed to the wall beside the aquarium 24" off the floor. Everything electrical is neat and organized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I have my lights and CO2 on timers too. I bought a timer/ powerbar combo at princess auto for 9$. It was 4 regular plugs(not on the timer) and 4 timed plugs. That way I can have the lights and co2 on the timer but the heater and fliter aren't and its all in 1 bar so it keeps the tangle of cords down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I run 4 lights and my CO2 solinoid off just one timer. Plug a power bar INTO the timer and now u have a timer with many plug-ins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I found these neat digital out door chrismas light timers at Home Depot last year for $24 bucks each. Since I often work very long hours I sometimes fail to control how long my lights are on.To fix this problem I have a timer for each light and CO2 silinoid valve. To keep the mess of timers and cords under control I made a simple board which the timers are screwed to. The timers only have one screw lug so they are further restrained by 1/4"dowels. The 3/4" thick plywood board measures 16" by 22" has one single power bar with 4 christmass light timers plugged in. This board can still have 4 additional timers or aquarium sensor units fastened to it. If you think this looks ugly I guess you could build this as a shallow cabinet. This set up is firmly screwed to the wall beside the aquarium 24" off the floor. Everything electrical is neat and organized. Picture??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I run 4 lights and my CO2 solinoid off just one timer. Plug a power bar INTO the timer and now u have a timer with many plug-ins I do the same but go one step further by plugging the timer into a surge protected computer powerbar on one of the 'always on' outlets. The filters and heaters get plugged into the regular outlets so I just flip the master switch off to turn off heaters and filters during water changes but the lights stay on. Works great as long as you get a decent timer. Most are rated for 1475 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 (edited) What brand of timer do you guys use? I have had trouble finding something reliable. In the last few years I've gone through at least three timers on two tanks because the timers give out or jam. The last ones I tried were so-called "heavy duty" timers meant for large kitchen appliances. Edited September 6, 2008 by Shai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 The mechanical timers (the ones with the pegs) suck. Spend the extra money and get a digital one. I use the ones made by Intermatic. Originally purchased at Superstore for $20 each. Now the only places I can find them is Home Depot or Rona for around $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Polit Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I just picked up an Intermatic digital on the clearance cart at Wal-Mart for $6.00. SCORE! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ph11p3540 Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 I have my lights and CO2 on timers too. I bought a timer/ powerbar combo at princess auto for 9$. It was 4 regular plugs(not on the timer) and 4 timed plugs. That way I can have the lights and co2 on the timer but the heater and fliter aren't and its all in 1 bar so it keeps the tangle of cords down. I gotta shop there more often for other cool stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ph11p3540 Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 I run 4 lights and my CO2 solinoid off just one timer. Plug a power bar INTO the timer and now u have a timer with many plug-ins I use one timer for each light unit since I like to stage the light intensity throughout the day to simulate dawn, noon and evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwish Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 I run 4 lights and my CO2 solinoid off just one timer. Plug a power bar INTO the timer and now u have a timer with many plug-ins that is a good idea, just be careful some timers are for lights only and they do have a maximum amp / wattage rating. Using it to power multiple things plugged into a power bar can overload some timers, as I found out. Luckily the one I use had a fuse but the side of the timers case was still blackened from the heat. So be a bit careful with that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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