Mark and Jon have both made good points.  That's what many heads can do!

I have seen some "power strip extenders" (I think that is what they were called) in computer magazines.  They are a short extension cord that you can plug A/C converters into (For the computer usage) or for us, timers!  I will look around and try to find them again.  They might help us be able to use all of the plugs in a power strip.

Good point mark.  I was also thinking about how 3 or 4 timers for lights are easier to put on a power strip or two than each on 1 outlet making the 2nd socket on the outlet useless.  also having that power off switch on powerstrips is nice as wells as the surge protection on the better strips.

Also it seems that I will be using 12/2 cable as that is what I have and I've already pulled it through the house.

ya, what rstruhs said .

I'm a bit flattered that you might think I know more about electricity then you.  But I'm a chemical engineer, not electrical and it sounds like you do know what your talking about and it sounds like sound advice.  I figure my 125 will draw close to 13 amps at peak.  And could actually pull more then that during start-up of pumps or lights, so two circuits would be a good idea.  But many people with big tanks don't have redundant wiring and they seem to get by.

(ohh, 10/2 is so much harder to pull then 12/2 )

My new tank will be on a dedicated circuit.  I like the idea of 2 circuits and may do it just because it would be easier to do now while I'm doing it than it would to decide to do it later.  Unfortunately I only have 1 bus in the breaker box and right now installing a new box it out of the question.

Thanks for your advice.

I don't have experience wiring for large aquaria, however, I do have experience wiring for high availability and redundancy.  IMHO, I would put at least two circuits in, both on GFCI at the breaker, each breaker on a different bus.  Run the lights and motors on separate circuits.  And give some thought to a couple of battery backups.  I would also run 10/2 w/ground wiring instead of 12 or 14/2 w/ground.  Just something to think about.

Jon may disagree with me.  If so, he is an engineer, so go by what he says.

If it can be planned, it's a good idea to dedicate a full circuit to a big tank or at least have two circuits in the room the tank will be located.