How do you guys sort out plug sockets for equipment??

Aquarium Decor, DIY and Equipment.
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WinterRose73
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So what I mean is... The plug sockets in my house are in stupid places and there aren't enough. I can't afford to get more put in (ie paying an electrician for install). It is absolutely not a thing I would ever consider doing myself for many, many reasons!

My current layout is that the two smaller betta tanks are on a sideboard next to the larger tank.

The large tank is running:

Air pump for air stone for extra circulation, heater, light, external filter.

The two smaller tanks have 3 plugs each which run the filters, heaters and the lighting.

So I've ended up with two extension leads running off one wall socket, which means I'm daisy-chaining which I'm not 100% happy with. The leads are in the large aquarium cabinet.

One extension has 5 socket spaces on it, the other has 8.

I've looked at all the wattages for what I'm running and the load on the extensions should be well below the capacity but I still feel anxious about it.

Also the distance between the cabinet and the furthest away of the two smaller tanks means that there isn't a lot of play, as aquarium equipment seems to come with stupidly short leads.

For those who are running multiple tanks in the same area how do you get round this or are you all lucky and have oodles of wall sockets at your disposal?
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Martinspuddle
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WinterRose73 wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 15:06 pm So I've ended up with two extension leads running off one wall socket, which means I'm daisy-chaining which I'm not 100% happy with. The leads are in the large aquarium cabinet.
No, no, no, please don't..... FIRE RISK! :cry:

Look on Amazon, I have a extension lead with a 3 metre (10 foot) cable for my aquariums. There are longer extension leads as well available. :]
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WinterRose73
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@Martinspuddle it's not the length of the extension leads that's the issue, as that's fine, it's the number of plug sockets for the three tanks... Between them I need 10 plug sockets. Plus the phone, as the jack is in that corner of the room as well. So at least 11. Can you get extension leads with that many sockets??

The sockets in this place are in stupid places unfortunately.

Also as I'm WFH at the moment, I can't relocate the two smaller tanks to where the 60 and 80 litre tanks used to be
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Stephen
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I use one extension lead per wall socket.
That extension lead can have 4, 5, 6 or more sockets.
All my extension leads are individually switched (separate switch for each socket) and are also surge protected.

I understand your concerns.
I am not an electrician so not really qualified to make a suggestion.

All the best
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4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

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WinterRose73
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The only thing I can think of is to relocate my router, which would free up the other plug. The only thing I'd need is a really, really long ethernet cable to plug... In... The router to the phone jack. OMG I'm so stupid. I had to get one of those last year when the WiFi chip in the TV packed up and the only way to stream Amazon etc was to plug the router directly into the telly.

Face palm...
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What are all of the things plugging into the extension leads and their power ratings?

It *might* be ok, but it can be a fire risk. Realistically, if the first extension lead is a fused 13A or lower type, then you're probably ok.
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VikingMummy2015
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There are definitely 10-12 socket extension towers on Amazon. I got an 8 socket one because I figured a tower would look better than a flat one....then hid it all in a box anyway 🤦🏽‍♀️. You get ones with usb sockets and all sorts now.
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Martinspuddle
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WinterRose73 wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 15:20 pm Between them I need 10 plug sockets. Plus the phone, as the jack is in that corner of the room as well. So at least 11.
Link; Tower Extension Lead, bedee Plug Tower with 6 USB Slots, 9 Sockets & Wireless Charger

Image

OR....

Link; SAFEMORE Tower Extension Lead 14 Socket and 4 USB Plug Vertical Power Strip

Image

There are loads of options. :]
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Martinspuddle
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WinterRose73 wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 15:36 pm The only thing I'd need is a really, really long ethernet cable to plug... In... The router to the phone jack. OMG I'm so stupid.
Face palm...
I use one of these, which uses the house ring main as ethernet or go wireless.

Link; BT Broadband Extender 600 Kit


Image

I seem to recall that @mikeyw64 is the best person to talk about ethernet and connectivity.
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mikeyw64
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In general order of efficiency from best to worst

Dedicated Ethernet Runs
Ethernet over Power Line
Wifi

However with WiFi6 and Mesh networking becoming more commonplace then you could put Wifi above Ethernet over Powerlines.

*If* I was rewiring a property from scratch I would probably run 2 ethernet cables from each room back to a dedicated switch (that supports Power over Ethernet [not to be confused with Ethernet over Powerlines] to power any wifi repeaters , IP webcams etc) and then connect the switch to my broadband router (with its wifi turned off.)

Then I would also create a wifi network by having a repeater in each room connected to one of the ethernet ports in that room
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