Aquapod 24 light upgrade

[fabioowin]

i Got my aquapod 24 and i wanna do upgrade in my system and i saw at the ebay this product below and i think is easy for install and the ballast i put outside of aquarium, what are you guys think look address down.


http://cgi.ebay.com/2-x-55-Watt-Straight-Pin-PC-ARO-Power-Compact-Ballast_W0QQitemZ300130373307QQihZ020QQcategoryZ46314QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem


this system will stay 2x32 original and 2x36 upgrade

[snusa]

If you need more light, you should get the 20" sunpod. It's very nice and much better with 150w HQI.

[fabioowin]

yes, but i dont wanna take off my hood, i have other aquarium 10 gallon with sumpod 20' 40w, and my cat all the time put your arm inside the tank.

[shouldabenacowboy]

I think the 55 watt bulbs will bee too long to fit inside the AP24 hood. If you are confident in your electrical skills then retro two 32 watters inside there, if not, take the advice of snusa and go with a sunpod. Sunpods come in either 70watt or 150watt.

SBC

[fabioowin]

no...no... the ballast * Also operates 28W, 36W and 65W bulbs *

[Ontosrob]

You can easily swap out the 2 32w bulbs for 40w bulbs. They will work with the oem ballasts just fine. If you want more move the reflector forward, order a replacement oem ballast, plug end (or use the one that comes with the Current ballist), 1 or 2 bulb clips(depends on what bulb plug end you dicid to us) & 40w bulb. Then mount them, putting the center bulb plug on the other side as the front and back bulbs.

I bought my ballast, bulb, end & clip from Marine Depot.

Also if you are going to go with 3 40w bulbs. You had better have upgraded the hood cooling; 2 fans, opening the front intake vents and used some weather stripping to get the air flow right!

[ArgonDreams]

Or get the 20" Sunpod and order the glass top from the stock HQI tank. Drs. Foster and Smith will order the piece for you if you need it covered.

[Ontosrob]

Do you run a chiller w/ the sunpod?

[rorchilles]

chiller seems necessary

[Ontosrob]

Might not need one with the pc's. I don't. Plus the PC upgrade cost is $55 & shipping!

[fabioowin]

"You can easily swap out the 2 32w bulbs for 40w bulbs. They will work with the oem ballasts just fine. "


are you sure ? if i change just the bulb to 2x40 with the same ballast?

[Bud's Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10386134#post10386134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fabioowin
"You can easily swap out the 2 32w bulbs for 40w bulbs. They will work with the oem ballasts just fine. "


are you sure ? if i change just the bulb to 2x40 with the same ballast?

I asked Current about swapping them out and they said no. They didn't say why not but it may just have been the space. The 40W bulbs are longer so you would have to move the sockets. The ballast in mine says it is a 40W ballast but I'm not sure if you can run max wattage bulb on them.

I'm going to try to put an additional bulb in mine so that would give me 96W instead of the stock 64. I've got the socket and bulb clip but I haven't got the ballast yet. Nanotuners has one on their site that should work but they are out of stock. Its the ballast rated to run 2 36W bulbs.

[Ontosrob]

Marine Depot has them in stock, check out the link:

https://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewItem~idProduct~CU01763.html

I can't remember if I had to move my sockets back when I originally switched first to the 40w bulbs. But I can tell you, I have used 40's with the original ballasts for about 20 months without any problem.

[fabioowin]

owww... ... i saw..good idea.... but with 3 ballast the temperature is going up ....!!

[ArgonDreams]

With the stock hood for PC I could see a chiller, but I ran a modied 104 Watt system (64 Watt + 40 Watt Retro) I would swing 6-7 degrees on a daily basis (77-83). When I switched to the Sunpod w/Glass, I got only about a 2-3 degree swap which was a total shock as I was getting ready to buy a chiller in prep for the HQI and found I didn't need it. (77-79) on a typical day.

[fabioowin]

i have 20' sunpod 1x40 w... in my other nano tank... i think i going to use the ballast.

[Ontosrob]

Good luck! If I can be of any help let me know!

[fabioowin]

ok...thank soo much ....

[Ontosrob]

I took the bulb cover off to clean it last night and checked. If you going to just upgrade the two 32w bulbs to 40w. I had to drill 4 holes and move the lamp holders back to get the longer 40's to fit.

[fabioowin]

my liver rock arrive thusday, and i got other cover aquapod 24 (garant...) and i gonna do like you, i gonna put 3x40.

[Bud's Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10433699#post10433699 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ontosrob
I took the bulb cover off to clean it last night and checked. If you going to just upgrade the two 32w bulbs to 40w. I had to drill 4 holes and move the lamp holders back to get the longer 40's to fit.

Did you take a picture by any chance? I am going to add a third bulb and was just going to put in another 32W, but if the 40w will run off the existing ballast I may change to 40s. Marine Depot has a ballast that will run two bulbs so I may get it so I will still only have two ballasts under the hood. Also I'm going to look into getting the 4 pin connector and replace the sockets to save a little space.

[Ontosrob]

Yes, I have some photos. I've been trying to get the time to do a DIY thread for our local reef club forum, but I just haven't had the time. I'll see what I can. If not, I'll try posting a shorter version for you. I don't know about the two light ballast, but the single Current "replacement" ballast #CU1763 from Marine Depot came with a four prong plug. Which save some space.

[fabioowin]

wow... i did upgrad 3x 40w and my temperature up.... i will post pictures later..... i saw this product "CoolWorks Ice Probe 50w Small Aquarium Chiller " at the nanotuners.com have but i dont know if is good, somebody have ?

[Medicine Man]

I just unsnapped the hood and put a 96 watt Coralife 20" PC fixture on it and seems perfect. Temperature is much better now that the hood is off. Also, I can hang a skimmer on the back now :-)

[Ontosrob]

Sorry it took sooooooo... long to reply! Since I'm the worst typist in the world, I figured it would be just as fast to finish my DIY article than to try and post pictures and descriptions here. Here is the link to the DIY: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1178532

The article is in two parts. I hope it of some help to you folks! Enjoy!